'Defense Drone Headquarters' Launched, but Can South Korea Catch Up with North Korea?

[Anchor]

The South Korean military has launched the "Defense Drone Headquarters" to strengthen its drone capabilities and technology. However, analysts point out that South Korea still has a long way to go compared to North Korea, which appears to already be mass-producing suicide drones.

Reporter Kim Min-jun reports.

[Reporter]

On the battlefields of Ukraine, where drones have emerged as game changers in modern warfare, drone strikes blow up buildings hundreds of kilometers away and urgently evacuate stranded soldiers.

At a domestic drone technology exhibition last September.

Reconnaissance and attack drones developed by South Korean defense contractors were showcased, but incidents such as an interceptor drone crashing immediately after being ejected from a mother drone occurred.

"[It has been ejected.]"

A series of takeoff failures, crashes, and signal disruptions followed.

At a drone technology exhibition unveiled in North Korea about a month later.

Pyongyang publicized footage of suicide drones and drone-launched missiles striking targets. Analysts suggest it has entered mass production, citing scenes of hundreds of cost-effective small suicide drones stacked on shelves.

[Shin Jong-woo / Secretary General, Korea Defense and Security Forum: "North Korea is leading in cultivating '500,000 drone warriors.' They are already mass-producing standardized small suicide drones. The reality is that we have not even started yet."]

To counter North Korean threats and strengthen drone capabilities, the Ministry of National Defense established the "Defense Drone Headquarters" yesterday (November 2).

Its core mission is to secure and supply reliable drones through parts standardization and equipment procurement.

Experts advise that "we must start by easing our cumbersome arms acquisition system to align with the drone warfare trend of 'cost-effective mass production.'"

Operational functions will be distributed to each military service branch.

The military explained that this measure reflects a battlefield environment where drones are operated like a secondary personal firearm.

Accordingly, the former Drone Operations Command, which was implicated in the drone infiltration incident in Pyongyang under the previous administration, was disbanded after three years.

While the first step has been taken, many hurdles remain.

Due to the risk of data leaks, using components from China—the world's top drone producer—is difficult, and sharing combat experience and technology is also challenging due to diplomatic friction with the Ukrainian government.

With North Korea rapidly arming itself using Chinese and Russian parts and technology, and acquiring cutting-edge tactics through its troop deployment to Russia, experts project that bridging the capability gap in a short period will not be easy.

(Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Kim Jin-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.