Economic and Operational Performance Proven in the Ukraine War
North Korea Hints at Possible Use of Cardboard Drones
Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, reiterated his commitment to securing the strongest national defense capability for security, emphasizing his confidence in adversarial U.S. policy through negotiations during his speech at the opening of the arms equipment exhibition “Defense Development – 2024” on the 21st of last month, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency on the 22nd.
“The military announced on the 3rd that it plans to introduce cardboard drones, which are low-cost and barely detected by radar, thus earning the nickname ‘cost-effective stealth.'”
The Ministry of Defense stated that they are pushing for the enhancement of drone power through various means, including domestic and international purchases. The military plans to finalize the contract to introduce cardboard drones by the end of this year and deploy about 100 units to the Drone Operations Command early next year. Initially, the cardboard drones will be used for reconnaissance, with potential future development or adoption for self-destructing purposes under consideration.
Cardboard drones are affordable to produce, much like “paper airplanes,” and are difficult to intercept, which gives them a favorable performance-to-price evaluation. Due to their material characteristics, they are nearly undetectable by radar, providing them with stealth capabilities similar to stealth aircraft. Particularly, these drones demonstrated economic and operational effectiveness when Ukraine, invaded by Russia, actively utilized them.
Last month at the arms equipment exhibition “Defense Development – 2024,” a vehicle suspected to be a cardboard drone caught attention. Among the drones that North Korea unveiled without mosaic alteration, one was spotted with wings and a body seemingly held together by rubber bands.
Prior to the exhibition on the 15th of last month, North Korean media reported on self-destructing drones, presenting a new type of drone vaguely targeting a BMW car, which was the same as the rubber band-equipped vehicle appearing at the arms equipment exhibition. The use of rubber bands for wing attachment is common in cardboard drones.
As North Korea has hinted at the possibility of low-cost, low-detection probability, and mass attack using cardboard drones, it seems our military is also securing power to respond similarly.