NORTH KOREA has tested exploding drones designed to crash into targets, with national leader Kim Jong Un calling for mass production of the weapons to be accelerated, officia media reported today.

The country’s latest military demonstration came as the United States, South Korea and Japan engaged in a display of strength against North Korea by staging combined military exercises involving advanced fighter jets and a US aircraft carrier in nearby international waters.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published photos of Mr Kim talking with officials near at least two different types of unmanned aerial vehicles. They included those with X-shaped tails and wings that look similar to the ones the country disclosed in August, when the North Korean leader inspected another demonstration of drones that explode on impact.

The weapons flew on various routes and struck targets  accurately, KCNA said, with images showing what appeared to be a BMW car and old models of tanks being blown up.

Mr Kim expressed satisfaction with the weapons’ development process and stressed the need to “build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” noting how drones are becoming crucial in modern warfare.

KCNA paraphrased him as saying that drones were easy to make at low cost for a range of military activities.

North Korea accused South Korea last month of sending its own drones to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the capital Pyongyang and threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again. South Korea’s military has refused to comment on the North’s claims.

The North Korea issue was expected to be discussed last night by US President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Peru, where they and other leaders are attending Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation meetings.