Pyongyang showcases new weapons, but Seoul questions their readiness

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, oversees an unmanned aerial vehicle, dubbed ″Saetbyol-9,″ in a footage disclosed by the regime-controlled Korean Central Television on January 2024. [KOREAN CENTRAL TELEVISION/YONHAP]

North Korea appears to have been spurring its efforts to bolster conventional military and nuclear capabilities under instructions from regime leader Kim Jong-un, according to recent assessments from the South Korean military.  
 
However, Seoul’s authorities believe Pyongyang’s so-called Saetbyol-9 drone, referred to as the “North Korean Reaper,” barely imitates the appearance of Washington’s MQ-9 Reaper without matching its combat capabilities.
 
According to the office of Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the conservative People Power Party on Friday, the defense intelligence headquarters under the purview of the defense minister said that it had identified new aircraft — in the category of Saetbyol-9 — with modified outer form and colorations as of last month.
 
The military agency said that it is “continuously tracking related developments.”
 

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Flight footage of the Saetbyol-9 was released twice last year, in May and November. The latest version revealed during celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of North Korea’s Air Force showed noticeable design modifications compared with the one seen earlier in the year. The developments suggest Pyongyang is continuing the development of long-endurance reconnaissance and strike drones to boost its defense capabilities. 
 
South Korean military authorities also said that the “Saetbyol-4” drone — believed to be modeled after the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk — has shown ongoing modifications, including extended aircraft and other external changes.
 
Both the Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9 were spotted parked side by side on a taxiway at a drone test facility in North Pyongan, according to a commercial satellite image taken on Feb. 25.
 

An 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine is seen during an inspection by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, not pictured, in this photo provided by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 25, 2025. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

As the original MQ-9 Reaper derives its military value from sophisticated onboard systems, including synthetic aperture radar and infrared surveillance equipment, simply replicating the aircraft’s exterior design would offer limited military value, experts say.
 
Even the original Reaper itself has been criticized as vulnerable to missile interception because of its relatively large size and slow speed.
 
South Korea’s military also assessed that it has not yet spotted the test firing of North Korea’s newly unveiled “Hwasong-11Ma” missile with a characteristic of hypersonic glide flight. The regime claimed that the missile is a hypersonic weapon.
 
North Korea first unveiled the missile during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Oct. 10 last year. The weapon appeared to combine the body of the KN-23 — often dubbed the “North Korean Iskander” — with a hypersonic glide vehicle warhead. Pyongyang later claimed it successfully tested a “new hypersonic flight vehicle” on Oct. 23. In January this year, the North’s state media reported that Kim personally oversaw another hypersonic missile test.
 
But South Korean authorities say they have not detected a launch displaying typical characteristics of the hypersonic missile, such as sustained speeds above Mach 5, an hourly speed of about 6,100 kilometers (3,790 miles), and irregular gliding maneuvers during the terminal phase of flight. Seoul’s observation suggested that Pyongyang’s missile may still lack technical maturity — in contrast to the regime’s claims.
 

North Korea’s new hypersonic short-range ballistic missile, ?“Hwasong-11Ma,” is seen during a military parade in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2025, in a photo carried by the regime-controlled media Rodong Sinmun. [RODONG SINMUN/NEWS1]

In a similar context, a new intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-20, unveiled during last year’s parade, is believed to be an upgraded version of the Hwasong-19.
 
Representatives of Seoul’s military noted the possibility that Hwasong-20 might have carbon fiber materials. However, it has yet to be flight tested, raising the possibility that North Korea could conduct a launch around a major political event — potentially to verify technologies for their weapons entering the atmosphere.
 
The military also expressed concern regarding a submarine that North Korea unveiled on Dec. 25 last year as an “8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided-missile submarine.”
 
Authorities said it remains “unclear” whether the vessel actually carries a nuclear reactor. Seoul's officials noted that North Korea’s limited technological capabilities raise questions about whether it could operate properly.
 
“The possibility of nuclear propulsion is being closely tracked in coordination with the United States,” the military said, noting that analysis through surveillance assets will be required to determine whether the submarine is capable of actual underwater operations.
 
North Korea has also pledged to continue developing its unmanned underwater attack vehicle, “Haeil,” which is still in early testing stages.
 
South Korean officials said they are closely monitoring the "possibility that technological cooperation with Russia, where Moscow could help Pyongyang advance nuclear propulsion or nuclear payload capabilities."


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]