North Korea's Kim Jong Un Inspects Drone Factories Copying Israeli Tech

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently toured the country's defense industries, with a particular focus on a drone factory apparently designed to reverse-engineer Israel's Harop loitering munition. The Harop, an "suicide drone" developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, boasts a range of 200 km, nine-hour flight endurance, and carries a 16 kg warhead with high precision. It gained prominence during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, where it was used by Azerbaijan.

This is not the first instance of North Korea allegedly copying Israeli drone technology. Two years ago, Pyongyang displayed two loitering munitions that appeared to be reverse-engineered versions of the Harop and the Hero 400 drone from UVision. The article suggests that components might have been transferred from Armenia to Iran, and then to North Korea. The Iranian Shahed 136 drone, also considered a copy of the Harop, is significantly cheaper at an estimated $30,000 compared to the Harop's $700,000 price tag, potentially explaining Iran's extensive use of such drones.

In November 2024, Kim Jong Un ordered the mass production of Harop "imitations," deeming them crucial for modern warfare. He also expressed satisfaction with a tactical drone test in 2025 and reportedly oversaw the development of the "Satbyul-4" and "Satbyul-9" drones, based on American RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper models, respectively. Kim has now instructed North Korea's defense sector to increase its use of artificial intelligence and enhance artillery capabilities.

Kim was accompanied on these visits by Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the military commission of the ruling Workers' Party. This follows a recent reshuffle where Kim replaced Defense Minister No Kwang Chol with Kim Song Gi, first deputy of the party's defense industry department.