North Korea Drone Production: Russian Help Expands Missile Capabilities
Moscow is trading weapons technology for troops, workers and materials as Pyongyang builds attack drones.
By John Ferrari ·
North Korea has begun mass-producing attack drones and is still refining its ballistic missiles, work that has leaned heavily on support from Moscow, The New York Times reported on October 24. The newspaper said Russia is handing over military developments to Pyongyang in return for soldiers, workers and weapons.
The military relationship resumed after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, North Korea has upgraded its armed forces and equipment with Russian assistance. In early October, Pyongyang launched a tactical ballistic missile it says carries a nuclear payload. South Korea and Japan put its flight at about 700 km, while North Korea claimed 1,000 km.
Five days after that launch, South Korea fired a hypersonic ballistic missile of its own, a first, with President Lee Jae Myung watching the test. The New York Times described the move as a signal that Seoul is uneasy about how fast North Korean missile technology is moving. Usually, South Korea answers such tests with short statements calling them provocative.
Anton Ponomarenko, an analyst, said access to Russian deployment data and feedback has improved the accuracy and manoeuvrability of North Korean weapons, making the threat to South Korea "more substantial". Russia has also helped North Korea build unmanned systems and turn them out in volume. During a drill last month, a drone swarm hit a target island as cruise and ballistic missiles struck it at the same time from different directions.
Reporting from Bloomberg in September said Russia is using North Korean citizens to build military drones, including at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, with up to 25,000 North Koreans believed to be working at Russian military plants. A North Korean missile forces unit, which could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, has begun deploying in western Russia.
Ukrainska Pravda reported in August that Russia asked North Korea for KN-30 ballistic missiles. In June 2026, North Korea announced tests of a modernised 240mm multiple-launch rocket system, a tactical ballistic missile and a 155mm long-range artillery shell.
The New York Times wrote that tactics like the drill last month will eventually force South Korea and its allies to redesign air defences at high cost.
