North Korea carried out new military drills this week, including what appears to be the test of a previously unseen air-to-air missile, as leader Kim Jong Un intensifies efforts to modernize the country's armed forces.
According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday, Kim supervised aerial combat training exercises conducted by the 1st Guards Air Division. The drills are part of a broader initiative by the North Korean leadership to overhaul and upgrade its aging military infrastructure.
Photographs published by KCNA showed a missile positioned near a MiG-29 fighter jet, prompting speculation among defense analysts. Some suggest the missile is a domestically produced variant of China’s PL-12, a radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile. Others believe it may resemble the American-made AIM-120A/B, which has been widely supplied to Ukraine by the United States over the past three years.
If the missile is indeed a copy of the AIM-120, it would likely indicate that components or designs were obtained from Russia and reverse-engineered by North Korea. This would reflect the growing defense cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang—a partnership that has expanded significantly over the last two years.
In June 2024, North Korea and Russia signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which included a military cooperation clause. That clause was activated recently, when North Korean troops fought alongside Russian forces in recapturing the Kursk region from Ukrainian control.
Since Kim’s visit to Russia in September 2023, North Korea has unveiled several advanced military capabilities believed to have been developed with Russian assistance. Last year, Pyongyang showcased its Hwasong-16B hypersonic missile, which analysts suggest may have benefited from Russian technical support.
This week's air exercises are just the latest in a series of drills conducted since the start of the year. North Korea has also unveiled a range of new systems, including the Chonma-2 main battle tank, the Choe Hon, the country’s first domestically designed destroyer, a new air defense missile system and has begun mass production of long-range artillery systems such as the KN-25, Pyongyang has also conducted nuclear counterattack drills, further escalating its military posture.
During naval exercises in April, Kim Jong Un announced that North Korea's navy would soon be equipped with nuclear weapons, marking another bold step in the country's evolving military doctrine.