ISTANBUL

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised performance tests of suicide attack drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology Wednesday.

Kim “learned about various kinds of reconnaissance and suicide attack drones, newly developed and being produced by an institute and enterprises under the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex, and oversaw their performance test,” according to a press statement by the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim, accompanied by senior officials, made important evaluations of the military effectiveness and strategic value of the strategic reconnaissance drones while positively supporting the new plans of the complex and agreed with its proposal for expanding the production capacity.

Saying that the field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be “top-prioritized,” he stressed the importance of correctly shaping long-term plans for promoting the rapid development of intelligent drones.

“A lot of objective transformation being made under the rapid sci-tech development calls for updating a large part of our military theory, practice and education,” Kim said.