North Korea Expands Armed Drone Tests and Production Through 2026

North Korea's Korean People's Army (KPA) carried out a large-scale 'joint firepower attack drill' on September 13, 2026, firing short-range ballistic missiles, a tactical cruise missile, 600mm multiple rocket launchers and several types of attack drones at an island target in the Sea of Japan, state media reported the following Monday. The exercise was overseen by Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the ruling party's Central Military Commission, and Maj. Gen. Yu Chang Son, director of the KPA's Artillery Bureau, according to NK News and UPI, both of which cited North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim Jong Un did not attend.

KCNA said five artillery and missile units took part and that every system struck its target with full accuracy, describing the drill as a demonstration of significant concentrated destructive power. Yu was reported as saying the training was meant to improve specialized capability to disable enemy forces organizationally and structurally once ordered. The drill combined drones with an Integrated Fire Command System intended to coordinate strikes from multiple weapon types at once, according to NK News.

A drone-testing site expanding since 2025

The September drill followed more than a year of drone-related activity at Panghyon airbase in North Pyongan province. In a satellite-imagery analysis published September 9, 2025, NK Pro, the subscription research service of NK News, reported repeated explosion and crater patterns at the base between July and September that year, consistent with ongoing drone testing. The outlet said North Korea had moved all MiG-17 and MiG-19 jets stationed there to a nearby repair facility that May, clearing the runway area as it had done before previous rounds of extended drone testing.

NK Pro reported that satellite images from early September 2025 showed walls erected on a new three-hall structure measuring roughly 140 by 120 meters near the Panghyon airfield repair base, alongside smaller rectangular buildings, which analysts linked to drone production. The report said the likely test subjects included suicide drones shown at a November 2024 weapons exhibition and larger 'Saebyol'-series attack drones resembling the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper. NK Pro linked the push partly to North Korean soldiers gaining direct combat experience in drone warfare while fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.

A parallel supply chain through Russia

Separately from its domestic tests, North Korea has also become part of Russia's drone-manufacturing workforce. A joint investigation by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the George W. Bush Institute, reported by the Kyiv-based outlet Militarnyi on October 22, 2026, found that about 12,000 North Korean workers have been sent to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Tatarstan region to help assemble Shahed-type attack drones. The report said the workers are paid roughly $2.50 an hour while North Korean authorities take between 70 and 90 percent of their wages, and that some work shifts of up to 12 hours tied to production quotas. Researchers said September satellite imagery showed new workshops and warehouses under construction at the site as recruitment continued.

Speaking at an October 14, 2026 event co-hosted by CSIS and the Bush Institute, Damon Wilson, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, described what he called a four-country production chain behind the drones used against Ukraine.

Wilson argued that North Korea's domestic repression and its contribution to Russia's drone program are linked, saying the same system that denies North Koreans their freedom also helps produce weapons used against Ukrainian civilians. He added that the regime's military development poses a threat to South Korea, Japan and American forces in the region.

How the U.S. and South Korea are responding

U.S. Army units stationed in South Korea say they are adjusting to the drone threat. Lt. Gen. Joe Hilbert, commanding general of Eighth Army, said in comments reported by DefenseScoop on October 12, 2026, that North Korea has reportedly practiced 'swarm' operations combining attack drones with missiles, and that Eighth Army is applying lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Hilbert said one-way attack drones are becoming an ever-present reality on the battlefield, according to the outlet. Col. Rosanna Clemente, commander of the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, said troops practice rapid mobility and survivability relocations and are integrating IBCS-enabled Patriot systems and an Integrated Fire Protection Capability to improve coordination between sensors and interceptors.

The drone and missile buildup has coincided with rising tension along the inter-Korean border. Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, said on October 19-20, 2026, that Pyongyang was considering resuming propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploying additional unspecified tactical strike means near the border, according to the Korea Times. She linked the threat to a September 21 landmine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers and to what she called South Korean interference with North Korean border fortification work. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Jin Yong Sung, ordered troops to respond decisively to any further provocations, the Korea Times reported.

What remains unverified

North Korea's own accuracy and performance claims, such as the full-accuracy hit rate cited for the September drill, come from state media and have not been independently confirmed. The extent of technology transfer from Russia to North Korea's drone program is also unsettled: DefenseScoop noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested Russia may have shared jet-powered drone technology with Pyongyang, a claim Moscow has not confirmed. Separately, North Korea tested what KCNA described as an AI-assisted torpedo system, named Zam-2.0, on October 17, 2026, which officials said had undergone more than 180 rounds of testing over five years, according to the Taipei Times; the report did not link that program directly to the drone effort but noted it fits a broader pattern of Kim Jong Un ordering more artificial-intelligence use across weapons systems.