North Korea's Kim Jong Un Says 'Power Is Peace,' Watches Drone Strike Drills and Threatens to Neutralize South Korean GPs, K9s and Air Defenses

[Financial News] North Korea has abruptly unveiled next-generation unmanned combat systems that fully incorporate lessons from modern warfare, alongside a major show of firepower by its 600-mm super-large multiple rocket launcher capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The systems include stealth drones and low-cost cardboard suicide drones. It has emerged that the show of force took the form of simulated-target drills involving precision strikes on key South Korean mechanized assets, including frontline GPs, outposts and K9 self-propelled howitzers. This has prompted defense experts to warn of a pressing need to fundamentally improve South Korea's weapons acquisition system and anti-drone defenses to counter North Korea's rapid push to mass-produce cost-effective drones.
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), reported on the 30th that North Korea had held the 'Unmanned Aviation Technology Development-2026' exhibition the previous day (the 29th), attended by WPK General Secretary Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae, and staged a large-scale show of force with various unmanned aircraft and major weapons systems in and around the Kalma area of Wonsan, Kangwon Province. The event and provocations are believed to have been linked to a series of surprise launches involving around 10 projectiles, including short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), detected by South Korean military authorities in the Wonsan area.
In a speech, Kim Jong Un said, "Peace and power are inseparable. The price of peace cannot be measured in numbers, and so peace is something that even a wealthy country cannot protect with money. Power is peace, and peace can only be guaranteed by power. This is common sense necessary for survival in today's turbulent world." He also said the exhibition had allowed him to confirm the development potential of unmanned aviation technology, and stressed that "pursuing absolute superiority in the field of unmanned aircraft is an indispensable choice in keeping with the changing nature of modern warfare."
According to an analysis report by the security think tank Korea Defense & Security Forum (KODEF), the most notable asset at the exhibition was a large, stingray-shaped stealth drone unveiled for the first time. KODEF Secretary-General Shin Jong-woo said, "Given that an eight-character airframe number (21030X01) and low-visibility North Korean flag markings are clearly visible on the aircraft, we judge it to be an actual technology demonstrator, not a mere mock-up." He added, "The air intake and main-wing shape appear to imitate stealth drones from the United States and Russia, and we assess that the aircraft is under development to neutralize South Korean air defenses and conduct deep-penetration reconnaissance."
Technological advances were also observed in precision-strike capabilities. North Korea showed for the first time an air-to-ground tactical cruise missile being launched from a Saetbyol-9 attack drone. The missile has a seeker—a detection sensor that serves as the missile's eye—mounted in the front of its warhead, enabling highly precise pinpoint strikes. Similar to the U.S. GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb), it can glide around terrain obstacles and strike targets to the rear. The surface-to-surface version was shown deploying its wings after separation from the first-stage rocket booster.
North Korea also showcased a broad lineup of low-cost, mass-produced loitering suicide drones that draw heavily on lessons from the war in Ukraine. It released footage of drone systems modeled on the U.S.-made Switchblade 600, designed to attack tanks and heavily armored targets, as well as Israel's Harop and Hero, conducting simulated strikes on South Korean GPs, frontline outposts, K9 self-propelled howitzers and M1 Abrams tanks. The footage made explicit North Korea's intent to neutralize frontline fortified positions and mechanized forces in the event of a contingency. In particular, it demonstrated its mass-production capacity by revealing assembly plants for radar-difficult-to-detect, low-visibility-painted cardboard suicide drones and standardized quadcopter suicide drones.
North Korea also released photos showing 15 rounds from the 600-mm super-large multiple rocket launcher (KN-25), which has a range of up to 240 km, being fired simultaneously and laying waste to the target island of Al Island; it dubbed the system 'Sniper.' This is interpreted as an intent to use concentrated strikes to completely neutralize South Korea's forward air-defense network. In a speech at the site, Kim Jong Un said, "Power is peace," and identified the advancement of key technologies in unmanned aviation and defense artificial intelligence (AI) as the top priority for modernizing the armed forces.
Security experts said the urgency of the South Korean military's response stood in stark contrast to North Korea's rapid push to acquire drones. According to KODEF's analysis, even the South Korean military's FPV (first-person-view) drones remain at the level of commercial training models. It also noted that suicide drones being developed domestically cost hundreds of millions of won each because they carry expensive equipment such as satellite data links, leaving them far removed from modern warfare's cost-effective, mass-attrition paradigm.
One clear example is the cages (slat armor) fitted to South Korean mechanized equipment as anti-drone protection: they reflect the lessons of the war in Ukraine inadequately, barely covering part of the turret. Analysts say this makes them difficult to use to stop precision strikes by North Korean suicide drones. Experts therefore say it is extremely urgent to establish a mass-production system for low-cost suicide drones, strengthen the force of K239 Chunmoo systems equipped with unguided rockets to counter North Korea's long-range artillery, and field the Low Altitude Missile Defense (LAMD) system early.
The military authorities said they "recognize as a serious problem the delays in acquiring advanced capabilities such as drones and AI," adding that the delays stem from the process of complying with the strict legal procedures set out in the current Defense Acquisition Program Act. The Ministry of National Defense is expediting legislative measures in light of the rapid pace of technological development in drones and AI capabilities, and is actively pursuing a 'spin-on' approach to rapidly bring outstanding civilian technologies into military service through various tactical demonstrations and planning.
The Ministry of National Defense plans to task the soon-to-be-established Defense Drone Headquarters with leading institutional improvements related to acquisition support. It is also reported that the ministry plans to overhaul regulations in the drone sector, using the 'Blue UAS' program currently operated by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) as a model. Blue UAS is a rapid acquisition program under which civilian drone products with verified levels of domestic content, security and performance are pre-registered in a military-only marketplace, allowing military units to purchase them immediately and deploy them in the field without a separate, complex procurement process.
A Ministry of National Defense official said, "We will address the gap in which rigid legal frameworks delay the adoption of outstanding advanced technologies from the civilian sector," adding, "By creating a new dedicated organization and introducing a rapid-purchasing system, we will quickly lay the groundwork to outpace North Korea's rapid push to field drones."










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