Russia helped set up Shahed drone production in North Korea
Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin (kremlin.ru)
Russia has helped North Korea establish production of strike drones and is training their operators, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Kovalenko said that Russian instructors are currently operating in Pyongyang as well as near the Kalma airfield in the city of Wonsan, where they are training North Korean UAV pilots.
The training reportedly includes both FPV strike drones and other types of attack drones.
Drone cooperation between Russia and North Korea
Back in February, media outlets reported that North Korea was preparing to launch production of combat drones. In return, Russia allegedly agreed to help set up the facilities in exchange for the deployment of North Korean soldiers to the war in Ukraine.
However, Defense Express questioned whether North Korean forces would be able to quickly assemble Shahed or Lancet drones and predicted that the country might instead produce simpler UAVs.
It was also recently reported that North Korea plans to send workers to Russia to staff drone assembly plants. In return, Russian military personnel will assist in training North Koreans to operate unmanned aerial vehicles.
