Not just nukes: North Korea weaponizes AI, drones in high-tech arms race

A new arms race is underway, not over nuclear warheads, but over AI.

As global powers scramble to weaponize AI, North Korea is muscling into the battleground of machine-driven warfare, determined to prove that sanctions won’t keep it sidelined.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for the rapid development of newly introduced AI technologies during a test of suicide attack drones on Sept. 18. Weeks later, at the opening of the country’s “Defense Development 2025” annual arms exhibition, Kim vowed to make AI and unmanned systems a central pillar of North Korea’s military modernization — a push he linked to “great-power status.”

Beyond the battlefield, Pyongyang is also integrating generative AI and deepfake technologies into its cyber operations. Its state-backed hacking groups have used synthetic identities to infiltrate foreign tech companies, and AI-enhanced malware to steal cryptocurrency and defense secrets.

Leader Kim is aggressively pushing to incorporate AI into North Korea’s weaponry, especially its drones.

“The field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be top-prioritized and developed in modernizing the armed forces,” Kim declared in early 2025.

At the test of loitering munitions in September, he emphasized the need for making “primary efforts to rapidly developing the newly-introduced artificial intelligence technology,” according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim personally oversaw the test of suicide drones modeled on Russia’s Lancet and Israel’s Harop. For the first time, Pyongyang even released unblurred footage of these drones striking mock-ups of U.S. armored vehicles, which experts read as a bold signal of confidence in their accuracy.

The test also revealed a new name: the “Kumsong” series tactical drones. People Power Party Rep. Yu Yong-weon, a member of the parliamentary defense committee, said the drones “likely have rudimentary AI that memorizes and studies target shapes” to carry out precision strikes.

Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, pointed out the emergence of larger warheads, improved optical guidance systems and a performance upgrade enabling fully autonomous strike capabilities in North Korea’s drones since March 2023 as “signs of technological collaboration with Russia.”

Prof. Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies noted that the Kumsong line shifts “from imitation to independent sophistication,” suggesting North Korea’s unmanned arsenal is entering an “AI integration phase.”

However, some analysts urge caution in accepting North Korea’s AI claims at face value.

“North Korea has claimed that the drones tested included artificial intelligence, but […] the degree to which the drones were flown by people as opposed to AI is unclear, though it’s quite possible that a mixture of the two was used,” said Bruce Bennett, senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation, a U.S. think tank.

He also questioned Pyongyang’s ability to scale production under international sanctions.

“There is the question of how many drones North Korea can afford to produce and produce the required high-tech electronics for them […] given that such electronics tend to be covered by the sanctions against North Korea,” Bennett added.

At the opening of the Defense Development 2025 exhibition earlier this month, Kim doubled down on his emphasis on so-called “special assets.”

While he did not specify what those assets were, experts believe they include not only tactical nukes and hypersonic missiles, but also unmanned and cyberwarfare systems integrating AI.

“Kim appears to regard invisible, non-kinetic tools — especially cyberwarfare — as a core weapon of modern conflict,” said Lim. “North Korea is likely preparing an asymmetric response to ROK-U.S. nuclear operation exercises [by focusing on these hidden assets.]”

While its drones take to the skies, North Korea’s hackers are arming themselves with code.

Generative AI and deepfakes are now woven into Pyongyang’s cyber playbook, making attacks faster, more convincing and harder to trace.

Earlier this year, South Korean researchers uncovered that a North Korean group — believed to be KimSuky — had used AI-generated fake military IDs in a phishing campaign against a defense agency.

The attackers produced a realistic photo of a fictitious soldier, attached it to an email titled “ID design sample,” and hid malware inside. Investigators later learned the hackers tricked an image generator into creating the normally prohibited content by requesting a “design sample for a military ID.”

It was the first confirmed case in South Korea of deepfake imagery being deployed in a military cyberattack — and an example of how AI can blur the line between creative tool and weapon.

Beyond espionage, Pyongyang’s hackers are exploiting AI to supercharge financial cybercrimes that bankroll its weapons programs.

The United Nations estimates they have siphoned about $3 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017, much of it funneled into its nuclear and missile weapons program. AI allows these operatives to automate phishing, write malicious code and modify malware on the fly, giving state-backed groups like Lazarus unprecedented speed and adaptability.

According to a threat intelligence report published by U.S.-based AI company Anthropic, which services Claude, on Aug. 28, North Korean operatives use a generative AI model to create fake digital identities that can pass technical assessments during job applications. Once hired, the operatives reportedly continued using AI to perform actual job tasks.

“These employment schemes were designed to generate profit for the North Korean regime, in defiance of international sanctions,” the report said. “Operators who cannot otherwise write basic code or communicate professionally in English are now able to pass technical interviews at reputable technology companies and then maintain their positions. This represents a fundamentally new phase for these employment scams.”

Though no major incident has yet been confirmed, security experts warn that Pyongyang’s growing access to such tools could soon flood South Korea’s information space with convincing fabrications.

“AI services are powerful productivity tools, but they also pose a significant cybersecurity risk if misused,” said an official at Seoul-based cyber security firm Genians. “Organizations need to prepare for potential abuse across hiring, operations and internal workflows, and implement ongoing monitoring.”

South Korea is responding with a two-pronged strategy — defend against AI and master it.

The government views AI not just as a threat, but as a domain it must dominate to preserve both security and economic power.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung captured this ambition in a Facebook post on Sept. 21, writing that “AI combat robots, autonomous drones and ultraprecise missiles, even 50 soldiers can handle thousands of enemies.” The remark sums up Defense Innovation 4.0, Seoul’s plan to turn a shrinking manpower base into a high-tech advantage.

The country is accelerating the development of unmanned ground vehicles, drone swarms and robotic sentries using AI navigation and target recognition.

Military expos this year displayed armed drones and prototype battle robots now nearing deployment. AI defense startups are receiving state support, and an AI military research center is tasked with ensuring that “Made in Korea” autonomy can match or surpass Pyongyang.

After a series of North Korean drone incursions, the armed forces formed a Drone Defense Command and began fielding radar, optical sensors and AI-assisted detection systems to spot small UAVs. New anti-drone jammers, lasers and electronic warfare units are under trial, while AI helps operators prioritize real threats among countless aerial objects.

In cyberspace, the National Intelligence Service and Defense Security Command have deployed machine-learning intrusion-detection systems and launched mandatory deepfake-awareness training.

Following the fake-ID attack, all public institutions must verify digital documents offline before opening attachments.

Financial watchdogs are tightening monitoring of cryptocurrency flows, and Seoul and Washington jointly hosted a symposium last year on blocking North Korea’s crypto-laundering networks.

Seoul also aims to lead the conversation on responsible AI in warfare, pushing at the United Nations for transparency in autonomous weapons and for resolutions condemning AI-enabled cybercrime.

Still, experts stress the need to prepare for the worst-case scenarios.

“When in the future North Korea achieves this threshold, the Combined Forces Command will be required to have a greater ability to deal with swarms of North Korean weapons,” said Bennett.

“Fortunately, Ukraine has learned a great deal about how to do this, and so South Korea ought to be doing everything it can to be learning lessons from the Ukrainian actions against the Russian invasion,” he added. “The United States and South Korea also need to develop their own autonomous drones to overwhelm North Korean defenders and defeat the systems used to support North Korean command and control and drones.”