North Korea recently tested new suicide drones which are unmanned drones designed to crash into enemy targets and destroy them.
Also known as loitering munitions or kamikaze drones, suicide drones are unmanned aerial vehicles specially designed to carry explosives and crash into enemy targets, effectively functioning as guided missiles.
The suicide drone, with a built-in warhead, can stay afloat, ready to strike before it locates and locks onto a specific target. They are also useful for targeting hidden or transient threats, offering the country deploying it great tactical advantage.
Reports say that the newly-tested drone looks similar to Russia’s ZALA Lancet and Iranian-designed loitering munition Shahed.
According to media reports, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a demonstration of the new suicide drones, amid his country's growing tensions with Washington and Seoul.
News agency AP reported that photos showed a white drone with X-shaped tails and wings supposedly crashing into and destroying a target resembling South Korea's K-2 main battle tank.
Kim said that global trends in military technologies and modern combat show the importance of drones in warfare and called for accelerated development and production of such systems.
The drone “correctly identified and destroyed the designated targets after flying along different preset routes,” reported Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The drone fleet will “be used within different striking ranges to attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea,” KCNA added.