North Korea’s Kim oversaw launch of missile that uses AI

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of a missile with his daughter, state media reported on Sunday, which allegedly used artificial intelligence to adjust its trajectory.

The AI technology means the missile is “capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude,” Kim’s powerful sister had said, adding this meant there was “no way to avoid” the attack.

It launched from an area around the eastern coastal city of Wonsan early Saturday morning and flew more than 700 kilometers (435 miles), South Korea’s military said, without giving further details.

“Through today’s launching drill, the strategic missile soldiers have fully demonstrated their professional qualifications and counterattack posture,” Kim said after overseeing the launch, according to an English-language dispatch by the official Korean Central News Agency.

“We must continue our responsible efforts nonstop to constantly and repeatedly make the enemy recognize the reliability and fatality of our strategic offensive means,” he added.

Photos released by KCNA showed a missile soaring into the sky in a burst of orange flame.

Another photo showed Kim smiling, flanked by his daughter Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju, who is seen clapping her hands in celebration.

Ju Ae, who was first introduced to the public in 2022, is the most likely successor to her father according to South Korea’s spy agency, citing her increasingly prominent role at major state and military events.

The launch was conducted to help train soldiers operating the “hypersonic strategic weapon system,” KCNA reported.

It came days after Seoul’s military demanded an apology from Pyongyang for a blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which it blamed on the North.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility for last month’s explosion and called South Korea “despicable” on Friday, undercutting overtures by Seoul’s civilian leadership seeking a return to dialogue.