NORTH Korea could be invaded by a swarm of military robots as Seoul develops new technologies to rival Kim Jong-un’s military might, it has been revealed.
South Korea has consistently built up its military forces to counter Pyongyang’s ever-present threats of all out war, spending £27.6billion on defence and commanding almost half a million troops in the region.
Now as Seoul pledges to increase its military spending by 7 per cent it is considering new means of holding back its tyrannical northern neighbours – including an army of military drones capable of swarming Pyongyang and unleashing a flurry of explosives on the Kim regime.
It follows rapid advances in Kim Jong-un’s military hardware – including the development of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of striking anywhere in the world – and nuclear explosives capable of sparking world war 3.
A South Korean Ministry of Defence official said: “South Korea’s army plans to create a drone-bot combat unit in 2018 and set up a professional combat team to operate it.”
The drones, which will be operated by combat troops, will be used for both lethal and non lethal means.
They are expected to be deployed deep into the heart of the North to spy on Kim’s military technologies as the young tyrant pushes for even greater military prowess following the launch of his Hwasong-15 ICBM.
But following a Trump administration decision to scrap limits on munition payloads for the south, they could also be armed with bombs and sent in to carry out precision strikes on the hermit kingdom.
North Korean military Bong Young-shik said: “Some of us in the field proposed the Republic of Korea military should take advantage of this superiority against North Korea.
“Although it is unlikely, if the South Korean military wants, these drones can carry bombs as the nation is no longer bound by payload limits.”
And as lightweight drone technology develops they could also be taught to monitor each others movements to create swarms – creating physical boundaries to block access to key areas as well as blockading ships and aircraft.
A source familiar with Seoul’s military said: “South Korea has reached a level of consensus on swarm technology, but adoption will take a while.
“The army is facing political pressure to reduce its forces, so it has to come up with new ideas.”
The drones could be a genuine threat to Kim Jong-un, if South Korea’s analysis is to be believed.
South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha claimed the North has not yet “demonstrated” the capabilities to arm their long range missiles with nuclear warheads.
Speaking to CNN, she said: “The non acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear power is not just our position and the US position, it’s the position of the whole global community as stated several times in the US security council resolutions.
“Now they have declared after the latest missile launch the completion of their program. But as I said there is no concrete evidence that they have mastered the technology that is required to be able to put a nuclear device on a long range nuclear missile.
“They haven’t demonstrated their reentry capability, they haven’t demonstrated their remote targeting, or the miniaturisation that is required.
“The declarations in their statement is one thing, but if they have really mastered the technology is another thing.
“This all of course requires careful further analysis and we do this with close consultation with our experts in South Korea but also US experts.
“But what the statement actually means and what it attempts to achieve domestically and internationally is still very much something that requires further analysis.”