North Korea tests AI-guided missiles and new warheads designed for modern warfare

North Korea tests AI-guided missiles and artillery rockets designed for modern warfare, KCNA says

SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) - North Korea has tested a mix of tactical ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and AI-guided precision cruise missiles designed for modern warfare under leader Kim Jong Un's supervision, KCNA state news agency said on Wednesday. Having advanced the development of a series of long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons capabilities, North Korea has been steadily upgrading its tactical and conventional arsenal, vowing to deploy it near the border with South Korea. The tests assessed the ⁠power of a "special mission warhead" on tactical ballistic missiles, the reliability of long-range multiple-launch artillery rockets and the accuracy of AI-guided tactical cruise missiles, KCNA said. Kim said the tests showed the weapons and automated launch systems have been successfully upgraded to "suit the proper conditions of modern warfare so as to enhance their application to combat," according to KCNA. The tests in particular confirmed the combat readiness of cruise missiles that will be deployed at artillery units near the border with South Korea equipped with precision navigation and AI-guided control that can strike targets at 100 km (62 miles), Kim said. Central Seoul, the densely populated capital of South Korea, is well within 100 km of the Demilitarized Zone border with the ⁠North, which has called the South its "primary foe" and disavowed the policy of eventual unification. The reported terminal guidance system of the cruise missile appears to be the first time North Korea has publicly referred to incorporating AI in missiles - a technology that maps and locks in the target using real-time data, analysts said. "It's about using AI when recognising the target and guiding the ⁠missile," said Yang Uk, a military expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. The North has previously said it had used AI technology in its drones. Hong Min at the Korea Institute for National Unification said the North's claim likely involves an upgraded ⁠version of an existing digital guidance system combined with automatic target recognition technology, although the degree of its sophistication is impossible to verify from the report. North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and artillery rockets since late 2023 ⁠that are used by Moscow in the war against Ukraine. The use of those weapons is believed to have given Pyongyang valuable battlefield data for its arsenal. South Korea's military said on Tuesday it detected the launch of multiple projectiles, including a ballistic missile. Reporting by Jack Kim, Joyce Lee; Editing Jamie Freed and Ed Davies Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

North Korea Says It Tested New Warheads, Technology and Navigation in Latest Launches

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea said Wednesday its latest launches involved multiple weapons systems, including a nuclear-capable cruise missile that leader Kim Jong Un plans to deploy with front-line units facing South Korea, as he continues expanding his military capabilities. The report by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea's military said it detected the North launching multiple projectiles, including at least one close-range ballistic missile, toward its western waters. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile flew about 80 kilometers (50 miles) but didn't specify other types of weapons involved. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim supervised Tuesday's tests that featured ballistic missiles with new warheads designed for battlefield nuclear use, nuclear-capable cruise missiles guided by artificial-intelligence technology, and 240-millimeter rocket artillery equipped with "ultra-precision" navigation systems. South Korea's military did not immediately comment on the North Korean claims. KCNA said Kim expressed satisfaction with the tests, particularly the performance of cruise missile systems intended for deployment with front-line long-range artillery units near the border with South Korea. He called for faster efforts to modernize and strengthen his artillery forces so that "no one can match," the agency said. Kim has sped up efforts to modernize North Korea's nuclear and missile arsenal since his diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. He has also adopted a hard line toward South Korea, which he declared as his country's "most hostile enemy" and moved to sever longstanding inter-Korean ties. During a meeting with military commanders last week, Kim discussed strengthening frontline units along the border in line with a state goal of turning the frontier into "an impregnable fortress," state media said. Kim's foreign policy focus has increasingly shifted toward Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large shipments of conventional weapons to support its war in Ukraine. He has also sought closer ties with China, North Korea's main ally and economic lifeline, while portraying Pyongyang as part of a broader front against Washington. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to revive diplomacy with Kim, but Pyongyang has ignored those overtures and insisted Washington abandon demands for North Korea's nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.