{"id":2115,"date":"2026-10-03T19:03:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T14:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2115"},"modified":"2026-10-03T19:03:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T14:03:48","slug":"north-korea-says-test-of-intermediate-range-strategic-missile-included-use-of-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2115","title":{"rendered":"North Korea says test of intermediate-range strategic missile included use of AI"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

North Korea said it tested an intermediate-range strategic missile on Saturday that involved the use of AI, hours after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched a ballistic missile.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The launch took place days after Seoul\u2019s military demanded an apology from Pyongyang for a blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that it blamed on the North.<\/p>\n

Pyongyang has denied responsibility for last month\u2019s explosion and called South Korea \u201cdespicable\u201d on Friday, undercutting overtures by Seoul\u2019s civilian leadership seeking a return to dialogue.<\/p>\n

Early Saturday, \u201cour military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea toward the East Sea,\u201d Seoul\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Korea, the US, and Japan are maintaining a robust defence posture through close information sharing regarding North Korean ballistic missiles,\u201d it said, adding the missile flew more than 700 kilometres (435 miles).<\/p>\n

Hours later, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Pyongyang\u2019s leader Kim Jong Un, said the missile fired in the morning was an \u201cintermediate-range strategic missile\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said the projectile is \u201ccapable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude and AI was introduced into it\u201d, without elaborating further on the use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

She said it meant \u201cthere is no way to avoid\u201d the missile\u2019s attack, and claimed Kim Jong Un believed \u201cany country in the world could not have access to such technology for at least several years\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her latest statement followed Kim Jong Un\u2019s remarks last month stressing the need to raise \u201cthe level of artificial intelligence\u201d in the country\u2019s weapons systems.<\/p>\n

Kim Yo Jong claimed whenever North Korea \u201capplied the wave-like trajectory mode\u201d, South Korea \u201cfailed to track the targets from their first skip points\u201d.<\/p>\n

Analysts say North Korea could be rapidly advancing its missile technology with Russian military support in exchange for sending troops to support its war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is increasingly being incorporated into military technology worldwide, and ballistic missiles are no exception,\u201d Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told AFP.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAI can assist with target information and launch operations, while the wars in Ukraine and Iran have shown how linking AI with drones and missiles can enhance their operational effectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hong said it was too early to conclude North Korea\u2019s claims about the missile\u2019s capabilities were accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Korea\u2019s missile technology is not particularly advanced compared with leading military powers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile missiles that manoeuvre in their terminal phase are difficult to intercept, that does not mean they can strike their targets with perfect accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Despicable\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seoul and the US-led United Nations Command found that last month\u2019s explosion inside the DMZ was caused by North Korean mines laid on the South side of the border.<\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s military has placed mines and built anti-tank barriers along the frontier as part of efforts to permanently seal it off following leader Kim Jong Un\u2019s designation of South Korea as his country\u2019s \u201cprincipal enemy\u201d in 2024.<\/p>\n

The mines responsible for the blast, which left three soldiers wounded, were believed to have been laid as part of Pyongyang\u2019s border fortification work, according to South Korea\u2019s defence minister Kang Shin-chul.<\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s dovish President Lee Jae Myung had urged Pyongyang on Thursday to return to dialogue, despite his military demanding an apology a day earlier.<\/p>\n

Kim Yo Jong responded by calling Seoul \u201creally despicable\u201d on Friday and once again denied Pyongyang was behind the blasts.<\/p>\n

She ridiculed Lee\u2019s latest overture, calling it \u201cthe climax of the farce that everyone should watch\u201d and said the military\u2019s demand her country apologise was \u201cquite ridiculous\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kim also warned Pyongyang was \u201cready for everything\u201d Seoul might do over the mine blast \u2014 remarks followed the next morning by Pyongyang\u2019s missile launch.<\/p>\n

Analysts said the launch would be viewed as a show of force in response to the South Korean government\u2019s diplomatic efforts, effectively rejecting engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeoul called for easing tensions, but Pyongyang answered by escalating them,\u201d Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe message is that the North is pursuing\u2026 confrontation in response to goodwill,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Korea said it tested an intermediate-range strategic missile on Saturday that involved the use of AI, hours after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched a ballistic missile. The launch took place days after Seoul\u2019s military demanded an apology from Pyongyang for a blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that it blamed on the North. Pyongyang has denied responsibility for last month\u2019s explosion and called South Korea \u201cdespicable\u201d on Friday, undercutting overtures by Seoul\u2019s civilian leadership seeking a return to dialogue. Early Saturday, \u201cour military…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}