North Korea tested an AI-linked intermediate-range strategic missile on Saturday, hours after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched a ballistic missile.
The launch comes days after Seoul’s military demanded an apology from Pyongyang for the DMZ blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers. Seoul blamed North Korea and the latter denied this responsibility.
Early on Saturday, “our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea toward the East Sea,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
“South Korea, the US, and Japan are maintaining a robust defence posture through close information sharing regarding North Korean ballistic missiles,” it said, adding the missile flew more than 700 kilometres.
Hours later, North Korea responded to these reports. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un, confirmed that the missile fired in the morning was an “intermediate-range strategic missile”.
She said “the projectile is capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude and AI was introduced into it”, without disclosing the use of artificial intelligence.
North Korea’s recent remarks follow leader Kim Jong Un’s push to integrate higher levels of artificial intelligence into the nation’s weapons.
Kim Yo Jong boasted that South Korea repeatedly failed to track their missiles whenever Pyongyang utilized a “wave-like trajectory mode.”
Meanwhile, analysts warn that North Korean missile tech may be rapidly improving through Russian assistance. “AI is increasingly being incorporated into military technology worldwide, and ballistic missiles are no exception,” Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Military Affairs said.
As per analysts, the launch would be seen as a show of force and act of defiance to South Korea especially at a time when the latter is actively looking to engage in diplomacy with North Korea.
