North Korea conducts first swarm drill using drones, nuclear-capable missiles and long-range artillery

North Korea’s August exercise featured a coordinated swarm attack that for the first time integrated attack drones, missiles able to carry nuclear warheads and long-range artillery. The regime had previously announced in September that it had tested two hypersonic missiles and a 240 mm rocket-launch system equipped with unmanned precision control. These developments are part of a broader effort under Kim Jong-un to upgrade its Cold-War-era weapons and to strengthen cooperation with Russia, including sending engineers to Russian drone factories.

Analysts note that massed drone and missile strikes can overwhelm even advanced air-defence networks, forcing defenders to expend large amounts of interceptors. IISS expert Lami Kim cautioned that such tactics could rapidly drain South Korea’s air-defence capacity and create conditions for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, reshaping security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula.