Oct. 29, 2026 at 4:55 pm Updated Oct. 29, 2026 at 9:56 pm

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for rapidly expanding the country’s drone technology and observed tests of various weapons, state media reported Friday, as his nation remains embroiled in a standoff with rival South Korea along their heavily fortified border.

Acquiring advanced drones is a top priority for Kim, who now wants to beef up both conventional and nuclear capabilities. Experts say his troops dispatched to Russia to support its war against Ukraine have likely gained valuable expertise on drone warfare from Russian forces and related battlefield experiences.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim on Thursday visited an exhibition of a variety of attack and other drones that show recent achievements in the field of unmanned aeronautical technology.

In a speech at the exhibition, Kim stressed the need to seize “the absolute superiority in the drone technology” and announced unspecified…