By Neeraj Rajput
Amid Russia-Ukraine war and tension brewing in the Korean Peninsula, North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un for the first time has showcased his arsenal of drones and UAVs which look like copycat of US MQ-9 Reaper and ‘Global Hawks’. While Kim Jong Un’s ‘love’ for ballistic missiles has been an open secret, the world for the first time is seeing his ‘treasure trove’ of drones and UAVs.
On the 70th anniversary of Korean Armistice, Kim Jong himself showcased his US version of MQ-9 and ‘Global Hawks’ during the ongoing visit of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang for the celebration of the ‘Victory Day’ parade. North Korea has organised a ‘Weapons and Equipment Exhibition 2023’ in Pyongyang to mark the Armistice Day. North Korea’s Hwasong class ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are also showcased in this military exhibition.
While the three year Korean War (1950-53) between North Korea and neighbouring arch-rival South Korea ended in an armistice on 27th July 70 years ago, Pyongyang celebrates it as ‘Victory Day’ or the ‘Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War’.
On the Victory Day, North Korean tanks, missiles and soldiers take out a military parade in the presence of dictator Kim Jong and a large number of spectators.
Sometimes this parade is taken out at night too. Pyongyang releases selective video clips of the parade the next day. So everybody is waiting for any news of this parade as the Chinese delegation is also visiting Pyongyang for this military parade.
This year’s Victory Day parade has diplomatic and strategic importance as Russia has been at war with Ukraine for more than 500 days and tension is brewing in the Korean Peninsula after an ‘Ohio class’ nuclear submarine (SSBN) USS Kentucky visited Busan harbour of South Korea. North Korea is frowning over the “periodic visit” of strategic submarines in the neighbourhood.
Adding to all these major developments is the crossover of a US soldier to North Korea during a visit to DMZ, the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea. Repeated requests by the US to Pyongyang for the return of any information about the American soldiers has gone unanswered by Kim Jong Un’s ‘rogue state’.
Speculations are rife that Russia could seek drones and UAVs from North Korea as it has taken assistance from Iran too. Iran’s Shahed UAVs have proven a boon for Russia in the past few months after Ukraine armed forces had out manoeuvred in initial months of the war by aerial attacks on Russian mechanised forces.
While Russia had a huge arsenal of conventional weapons, destructive technology had been found missing till the Shahed drones came into the battle scene. North Korea’s drones (if one goes by looks and size) are no less than America’s MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk. North Korea has also released a video of the successful test of its combat ‘MQ-9’ drone firing a missile.
Interestingly, the weapons exhibition organised in Pyongyang had numerical number ‘2’ of 2023 denoted as ‘Z’. During the on-going Ukraine war, the alphabet ‘Z’ has become a symbol of Russia’s nationalism and support for President Vladimir Putin after the mark was seen on all the Russian mechanised vehicles and army trucks.
For both Russia and North Korea, the visit marks the end of ‘diplomatic isolation’ of the two neighbouring countries. Russia’s Vladivostok city in the far-east shares a boundary with North Korea which is among the few countries globally openly supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. North Korea, like Russia now, has been under sanctions from the US and West for aggressive behaviour against South Korea and Japan and testing nuclear weapons.
According to Russia’s Defence Ministry, Shoigu and Kim Jong Un during the conversation “views on global and regional security issues were exchanged.” Shoigu during his stay in Pyongyang was all praise for Kim Jong Un for having the “most powerful army in the world.”
Shoigu’s visit to North Korea had come at a time when Russia and China concluded a week-long maritime exercise in the Sea of Japan. This ‘troika’ of China, Russia and North Korea is considered as traditional bete noire of the US and can have serious ramifications on the global as well as regional geopolitics.
A Chinese delegation is also in Pyongyang these days to attend the Victory Day parade. China had actively supported North Korea during the Korean War against South Korea which was aided by the US. Russia too, it’s believed, had tacitly supported North Korea during the war. Three year long war saw about 2.5 million fatal casualties before the UN intervened for an armistice on 27th July 1953.
The war had ended 70 years ago but tension still persists in the Korean Peninsula since then as the US has its soldiers permanently deployed in South Korea (US Korea Forces) against any aggression from Pyongyang.
The author is a Senior War-journalist having more than two decades of multimedia experience with specialization in defense, conflict, security, strategic affairs & geopolitics. He has done ground reporting from the Korean Peninsula and his book on the Russia-Ukraine war, ‘Operation Z Live’ in Hindi has just been released.
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