{"id":68881,"date":"2026-06-29T20:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/68881\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:12:24","slug":"kim-jong-un-calls-for-destructive-military-posture-as-south-korea-vows-to-boost-drone-capability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/68881\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim Jong Un calls for \u2018destructive\u2019 military posture as South Korea vows to boost drone capability"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un<\/a> observed major\u00a0weapons tests\u00a0and called for the military\u2019s \u201cdeadly and destructive offensive posture\u201d to be bolstered, state media reported Friday, as South Korea<\/a> announced it would drastically boost its drone warfare capabilities.<\/p>\n

The development comes as tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula, with Kim pushing to strengthen both nuclear and conventional\u00a0military capabilities\u00a0while refusing to return to talks with South Korea and the United States.<\/p>\n

The tests watched by Kim on Thursday were meant to evaluate the power of a \u201cspecial mission\u201d warhead for a tactical ballistic missile, an upgraded multiple rocket launch system and the hit accuracy of shells with an extended firing range of a self-propelled gun-howitzer, the official Korean Central News Agency said.<\/p>\n

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for the military to bolster its \u201cdeadly and destructive offensive posture,\u201d while South Korea plans to expand its drone warfare capabilities. KCNA VIA KNS\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

KCNA cited Kim as saying results of the tests proved the technological progress achieved in a push to bring about a change in the fire posture on southern border areas, implying the tested weapons systems target sites in South Korea including U.S. military bases there.<\/p>\n

Kim said North Korea\u2019s self-defense policy includes an objective to strengthen \u201cthe deadly and destructive offensive posture to make no enemy dare to confront,\u201d KCNA said. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo make the enemies feel constant uneasiness and fear is just an important aspect of the exercise of war deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n

KCNA said the special mission warhead tested is aimed at \u201cinflicting fatal damage on major targets including airfields, ports and power facilities of the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later Friday, South Korea\u2019s Defense Ministry announced plans to beef up its drone forces, citing growing military threats by North Korea which allegedly received technology\u00a0assistance from Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The plans include developing long-range exploding drones, acquiring more than 20,000 low-cost reconnaissance and attack drones and training the country\u2019s entire 500,000 troops as \u201cdrone warriors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim has refused talks with neighboring South Korea along with the United States while continuing to advance the country\u2019s nuclear and military programs. EyePress News\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Korea is also currently receiving technology transfers from Russia<\/a>, so there\u2019s an urgent need for us to respond proactively to the changing nature of warfare and the evolving operational environment,\u201d Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters.<\/p>\n

Ahn said the plans reflect how low-cost loitering munitions like drones are becoming crucial in modern warfare, including in Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine that also involved thousands of\u00a0North Korean troops\u00a0fighting alongside Russian troops. <\/p>\n

Ahn said the South Korean military plans to have 500,000 \u201cdrone warriors\u201d across the army, navy, air force and marines who operate drones \u201ceasily like personal firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n

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North Korea has been focusing on enlarging its nuclear and missile arsenals since Kim\u2019s high-stakes diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. <\/p>\n

He later underscored the need to build sophisticated conventional weapons as well.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, North Korea commissioned\u00a0the 5,000-ton destroyer\u00a0that Kim touted as a symbol of the country\u2019s growing naval and nuclear capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kim watched the latest tests be conducted on Thursday that displayed the power of a \u201cspecial mission\u201d warhead. KCNA VIA KNS\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Choe Hyon\u00a0is North Korea\u2019s most advanced warship.<\/p>\n

In response to\u00a0Trump\u2019s repeated outreach\u00a0to restart diplomacy, Kim has suggested that talks can resume if the U.S. drops its demand for denuclearization of North Korea as a precondition of diplomacy. <\/p>\n

Kim has taken a harsher posture on South Korea, calling it his country\u2019s\u00a0\u201cprincipal enemy\u201d\u00a0and building more military structures along the rivals\u2019 heavily fortified border.<\/p>\n

Kim has boosted his diplomatic footprint in past years by expanding\u00a0ties with Russia\u00a0with his support of its war against Ukraine. <\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Chinese President\u00a0Xi Jinping\u00a0visited North Korea for the first time in seven years for a meeting with Kim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed major\u00a0weapons tests\u00a0and called for the military\u2019s \u201cdeadly and destructive offensive posture\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[134,74,3718,141,31,34,137,33,76,1334],"class_list":["post-68881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-north-korea","tag-china","tag-donald-trump","tag-drones","tag-kim-jong-un","tag-korea","tag-north-korea","tag-russia","tag-south-korea","tag-world-news","tag-xi-jinping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}