North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has showed Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu the DPRK's new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that look like the US-made drones, according to photos presented by North Korean state-run media.
A South Korean news agency in turn referred to the photos, which “appeared to be modeled after” a US MQ-9 Reaper and an American surveillance UAV RQ-4 Global Hawk attack and surveillance drone.
The news agency claimed that North Korea “has even conducted test flights of the two models," noting in this regard that if the North Korean version of the RQ-4 and Seoul’s Global Hawk fly simultaneously over the Korean Peninsula, they would be “identical enough to mistake the aircraft types.”
The photos along with a video of the drones were showcased at the "Weaponry Exhibition-2023" in Pyongyang, which was attended by Shoigu and Kim amid the Russian defense minister’s three-day visit to North Korea, which wraps up later on Thursday.
The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said that a Russian delegation led by Shoigu would visit North Korea from on July 25-27 to participate in festive events on the occasion of the anniversary of "the victory of the Korean people" in the Korean War of 1950-1953.
The Ministry added that the visit would contribute to strengthening of military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, also marking an important step in cooperation between the two countries.