North Korea Tests AI-Enabled Ballistic Missile, Claims It Can Change Flight Path at Low Altitude

North Korea Tests AI-Enabled Ballistic Missile, Claims It Can Change Flight Path at Low Altitude

SEOUL, October 3, 2026 [VoM News]: As per the AFP reports of state statements, North Korea announced it had managed to conduct a successful test of an intermediate-range strategic ballistic missile that has artificial intelligence technology, which could change its flight path while in flight at low altitude.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that the military had picked up a ballistic missile fired from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea, or the Sea of Japan. The missile travelled more than 700 kilometres, according to Seoul. South Korea said that it was providing the US and Japan with information on the launch, and keeping a “coordinated defence posture”.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said hours after the launch, her country had developed an “intermediate-range strategic missile,” and that artificial intelligence had been introduced into it.

She said the missile could alter its path at low altitudes but there were no technical details from North Korea in the missile that explained how AI was used, and they did not provide independent evidence that they claimed the missile could change its flight path. Kim Yo Jong also said the technology will make it hard to evade or intercept the missile.

The statements have not been substantiated by an independent party. The test comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered a greater use of artificial intelligence in the country’s weapons systems in a recent speech.

Military experts said it was important not to take Pyongyang’s word for its technology. AI is being widely applied in military systems across the globe and is capable of helping with targeting and launch operations, said Hong Sung-pyo, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs in Seoul, in a statement to AFP.

But it was not as if it is hard to manoeuvre missiles that are hard to intercept to hit targets with perfect accuracy, Hong said. The missile launch was the latest in a renewed conflict between North and South Korea that erupted after an explosion in the DMZ injured three South Korean soldiers.

The explosion happened on the southern side of the border, and Seoul and the U.N.-led United Nations Command have blamed it on North Korea’s mines. Pyongyang has blamed the incident on the other side.

It was also the time that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reiterated his plea for dialogue with North Korea. Kim Yo Jong refused to accept Seoul’s overture and slammed South Korea for its call for an apology for the mine explosion.

North Korea has also been continuing to advance its missile and weapons programs and boosting its applications of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies as part of its military development plans.

Analysts are also looking into whether Pyongyang has technologically improved because of its military ties with Russia, but there have been no concrete reports of any such transfers.