Hangar images indicate North Korean advances in military drone domain

North Korea appears to have created a new unit or organization to develop and test various strategic drones, including large reconnaissance drones, according to an analysis by a U.S. think tank Tuesday.

In the long term, this could be an attempt to supplement North Korea’s inferior air surveillance capabilities and counter the air deterrence of South Korea and the U.S. by using drones.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) North Korea specialized website Beyond Parallel analyzed in a report released on Tuesday that “seven new drone hangars, each 40 meters wide, are believed to have been built since July or August of last year at the Banghyon Air Base in Kusong City, North Pyongan Province.”

A civilian satellite photo taken of the area on Friday showed the red-roofed hangar buildings densely packed together.

“Banghyon Air Base is the home of North Korea’s largest unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),” the report from Beyond Parallel said. “North Korea appears to have created a unit operating eight to 16 aircraft for small-scale experiments and test flights of Saetbyeol-4, Saetbyeol-9, and similar-grade large reconnaissance UAVs.”

However, the report assessed that small UAVs were under the control of the Reconnaissance General Bureau and strategic UAVs were under the control of the People’s Army until 2023, but it recently pointed out that it is unclear which organization controls the entire UAV list.

In addition, the report said that North Korea had difficulty developing large drones until 2021, but considering the recent progress in North Korea-Russia relations, it is highly likely that there was cooperation with Russia in the development of strategic drones.

The Banghyon Air Base was designated as the place where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited on March 25-26 when he observed the test flight of North Korea’s first airborne early warning and control aircraft and a suicide and reconnaissance drone.

Experts analyze that North Korea’s drone production is currently taking place at two unknown factories, the ‘June 1 Factory’ near the Banghyon Air Base and a factory somewhere between Pyongyang and Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province.

Earlier, North Korean state-run media also released an improved version of the Saetbyeol-4, a North Korean version of the Global Hawk, which is believed to be a copy of the U.S.’s high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, on Thursday.

The Beyond Parallel report concluded that “as of now, it is assessed that it simply copied the external appearance of the aircraft and was not equipped with advanced equipment similar to that of the U.S.”

This is consistent with the previous assessment by the South Korean military authorities.

The report added that the Saetbyeol-4 is similar in appearance to China’s high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, the WZ-7.

However, the report predicted that “if North Korea successfully develops a Saetbyeol-4-class strategic reconnaissance drone and deploys it near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) or within South Korea’s Air Defense Identification Zone (Kadiz), North Korea’s situational awareness of the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas will greatly improve.”

This is ultimately seen as an attempt to preemptively respond to South Korea’s Kill Chain and Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) phases of the three-axis system by strengthening unmanned reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities.

Meanwhile, as intelligence authorities revealed that North Korean troops learned military tactics related to drones from Russia during the Ukrainian war, it was confirmed that a commander in charge of the eastern front line of Ukraine was included in the list of Russian delegations that recently visited North Korea.

The American North Korea media outlet NK News reported on Monday that the list of Russian House of Representatives delegations that visited Pyongyang included Akhra Avidzba, commander of the Pyatnashka International Brigade of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Experts are analyzing that Russia, which has almost recaptured the Kursk front in western Russia, is considering deploying North Korean troops to solidify its position in the Donbas region, a Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, ahead of armistice talks.

BY LIM JEONG-WON  [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]