金正恩氏、攻撃用無人機の「大量生産」指示

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】北朝鮮の朝鮮中央通信（ＫＣＮＡ）は１５日、金正恩（キム・ジョンウン）朝鮮労働党総書記が、攻撃用無人機（ドローン）の「大量生産」を指示したと報じた。ロシアとの軍事協力関係への懸念が高まる中での報道。（写真は、北朝鮮の非公開の場所で、攻撃用無人機の性能試験を視察する金正恩氏。ＫＣＮＡ提供）
　北朝鮮は８月、初めて攻撃用無人機を公開した。専門家はロシアとの新たな同盟によってドローン技術がもたらされた可能性があるとしている。
　北朝鮮をめぐっては最近、ロシアとの防衛協定を批准。ウクライナで侵攻を支援するために数千人の兵士をロシアに派遣したとして非難されている。これに対し、韓国の尹錫悦（ユン・ソンニョル）大統領は、ロシアの軍事技術が北朝鮮に移転される可能性について警告した。
　金氏は１４日、同国で製造された、陸海上の目標を攻撃するための無人機の試験を視察したとされる。
　「金氏はできるだけ早く量産体制を構築し、本格的な大量生産に入る必要があると強調した」とＫＣＮＡは伝えた。
　また１４日の試験では、無人機が事前に設定された経路に沿って飛行し、標的に「直撃」したとしている。
　専門家によると、８月に公開された画像の無人機は、イスラエル製の「ハロップ」や「ＨＥＲＯ３０」、ロシア製の「ランセット３」に似ているという。
　北朝鮮はこれらの技術をロシアから、またロシアはイランから入手した可能性が高いとされる。イラン政府はイスラエルに対するハッキングや窃盗によりこれらの技術にアクセスしたことが疑われている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/15-19:28）

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the mass production of attack drones, state media reported Friday, as concerns mount over the country's deepening military cooperation with Russia.
Pyongyang first unveiled its attack drones in August, with experts saying the capability may be attributable to the country's budding alliance with Russia.
The nuclear-armed country has ratified a landmark defence pact with Moscow and is accused of deploying thousands of troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, prompting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to warn about the potential transfer of sensitive Russian military technology to North Korea.
Kim on Thursday oversaw the tests of drones designed to hit both land and sea targets, produced by North Korea's Unmanned Aerial Technology Complex, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
He underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production, KCNA said.
The unmanned drones are designed to carry explosives and be deliberately crashed into enemy targets, effectively acting as guided missiles.
Thursday's test saw the drones precisely hit targets after flying along predetermined paths, KCNA reported.
The suicide attack drones to be used within different striking ranges are to perform a mission to precisely attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea, the agency said.
Kim said the drones were an easy to use... component of striking power due to their relatively low production cost and expansive range of applications, according to KCNA.
He said the North had recently attached importance to developing unmanned hardware systems and to integrating them with the country's overall military strategy.
- Russian tech? -
Experts said the drones -- in images released by state media in August -- looked similar to the Israeli-made HAROP drone, Russian-made Lancet-3 and Israeli HERO 30.
North Korea may have acquired these technologies from Russia, which in turn likely obtained them from Iran -- with Tehran itself suspected of accessing them through hacking or theft from Israel.
In 2022, Pyongyang sent drones across the border that Seoul's military was unable to shoot down, saying they were too small.
This year, North Korea has been bombarding the South with trash-carrying balloons, in what it calls retaliation for activists in the South floating anti-regime propaganda missives northwards.
The North has also accused Seoul of violating its sovereignty by flying drones over its capital Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets.
By mentioning the production and practical deployment of various drones, North Korea may be hinting it could follow suit, Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
Pyongyang could be suggesting the possibility of using balloons to disseminate leaflets to the South with such drones, Yang said.
Considering the effectiveness of drone attacks observed in the war in Ukraine, they could also be effectively utilised in the ongoing conflict there, he added.
South Korea launched a drone operation command last year to better address the growing threat.
In October, the North amended its constitution to define South Korea as a hostile state, an illustration of a sharp deterioration in ties since Kim in January declared Seoul his country's principal enemy.
The North has continued to carry out UN sanctions-defying ballistic missile tests, and last month blew up its roads and railways linking it to the South.