North Korean drone at a military parade on July 27, 2013 | Image: NK News
The South Korean military’s failure to intercept or shoot down five North Korean drones that entered ROK airspace this week showcased the significant strategic value these capabilities provide Pyongyang, which experts say has made considerable progress in advancing their developments as tools of war.
Drones’ “adaptability” is a big part of their appeal to countries like the DPRK, offering both reconnaissance functions and the ability to deliver destructive payloads, in a way unlike most other military systems, according to National University of Singapore (NUS) lecturer Beryl Pong.
The South Korean military’s failure to intercept or shoot down five North Korean drones that entered ROK airspace this week showcased the significant strategic value these capabilities provide Pyongyang, which experts say has made considerable progress in advancing their developments as tools of war.
Drones’ “adaptability” is a big part of their appeal to countries like the DPRK, offering both reconnaissance functions and the ability to deliver destructive payloads, in a way unlike most other military systems, according to National University of Singapore (NUS) lecturer Beryl Pong.
Get the Daily Update
Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most –
Shreyas Reddy is a correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. He previously worked as a researcher at BBC Monitoring, where his work focused on news and key people and organizations from the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Follow him on Twitter.