North Korea’s Reaper copy Saetbyol-9 fires a new cruise missile

North Korea has released new images of its Saetbyol-9 attack drone, a near copy of the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper, firing an air-launched tactical cruise missile during a live-fire demonstration Kim Jong Un watched, state news agency KCNA showed on Oct. 30.

A KCNA photo taken from the drone’s own wing shows a black cruise missile with a pointed nose and a yellow band mounted under the wing, while a second cruise missile streaks away below the clouds after launch. The drone carries the markings of the Korean People’s Army Ground Force, the North’s army, and the serial number 2101003 on its nose, which suggests the aircraft is assigned to ground units for reconnaissance and strike missions rather than only to the air force. KCNA said missiles fired from drones and ground-launched cruise missiles hit an island target with 100% accuracy, a claim that cannot be independently checked.

South Korean analysts at the Korea Defense and Security Forum said the weapon is a tactical air-to-ground cruise missile with a seeker in the nose to guide it onto its target, Financial News reported, and called it the first time North Korea has shown a Saetbyol-9 launching such a missile. North Korea has not given the missile a name or released its range, warhead size or guidance method.

The launch was part of a firepower demonstration that followed North Korea’s “Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Development-2026” exhibition, where Kim called for the country to seize “absolute superiority” in drone technology. The drill also involved tactical suicide drones, ground-launched cruise missiles and a battalion of 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, and South Korea’s military detected around 10 short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area the same day.

The Saetbyol-9, or “Morning Star-9,” is propeller-driven and closely mirrors the shape of the MQ-9 Reaper, with a wingspan of roughly 20 m (66 feet), the same as the American drone. It first appeared in July 2023 alongside the larger Saetbyol-4, a long-range reconnaissance drone modeled on the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk, which North Korea also put on display at this week’s exhibition. A brief North Korean video from 2023 appeared to show the Saetbyol-9 firing a pair of missiles that resembled the U.S. Hellfire, and a U.S. Army general said in 2024 that North Korea was arming its drones with reverse-engineered copies of the Hellfire.

The new photos show a different, larger-looking store under the wing. A cruise missile flies on wings and an engine for most of its flight, which typically gives it longer range than a rocket-powered missile like the Hellfire and lets a drone fire from farther away from enemy air defenses. Without official data, it is not possible to say how far the North Korean missile can fly.

South Korean officials have questioned how much combat value the Saetbyol-9 adds. In March, the South Korean military said the drone barely imitates the Reaper’s appearance without matching its capabilities, while noting it had spotted new aircraft in the same category with a modified shape and paint scheme. In September, state media showed Kim touring production lines with airframes matching the Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9, the clearest sign yet that North Korea intends to build both in numbers.