Kim Jong Un Calls for Artificial Intelligence and Automation in North Korea’s Weapons Systems

A military system described as AI-enabled does not necessarily mean that an autonomous weapon independently makes complex decisions without human involvement.

AI can instead be used for relatively narrow tasks such as identifying objects in sensor imagery, optimizing routes, processing large quantities of battlefield information or assisting operators.

North Korea’s state media did not provide enough technical information to determine precisely what AI technologies are currently deployed or being developed for each weapons system.

Therefore, the latest statements should be understood primarily as an indication of North Korea’s stated technological priorities, rather than proof that the country has already achieved advanced autonomous warfare capabilities.

North Korean Artillery Remains a Major Military Priority

Kim Jong Un’s comments placed particular emphasis on artillery.

According to KCNA, Kim described a powerful artillery force as central to North Korea’s ability to deter and fight a war.

He called for artillery to have highly concentrated, destructive, massive and versatile offensive capabilities.

This focus is consistent with the historical importance of artillery within North Korea’s military strategy.

The Korean Peninsula contains heavily fortified military positions and a dense concentration of conventional military forces. North Korea has maintained a large artillery force for decades, including conventional artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems and increasingly sophisticated missile-related systems.

The latest modernization effort appears to involve more than simply increasing the number of artillery pieces.

Kim’s instructions specifically connected artillery modernization with:

automation, improved armor, production expansion, technical modernization and artificial intelligence.

That combination points toward an effort to transform artillery from conventional manually operated weapons toward increasingly networked and automated systems.

The objective of such modernization can include faster detection, faster decision-making, greater mobility, improved survivability and the ability to coordinate multiple weapons platforms.

The exact degree to which North Korea has implemented these technologies remains difficult to establish from publicly available information.

September 20, 2026 | 7:26 pm