North Korea will unveil new weapons development goals this month at its Ninth Party Congress, amid assessments that Pyongyang only checked off part of the sweeping list that Kim Jong Un aimed for at his 2021 Congress.

Analysts say that while nuclear weapons and missiles remain central to Kim's plan, the conventional systems could help North Korea to better 'find targets', coordinate forces, and apply pressure under the nuclear threshold, including drones, subs and space-based monitoring.

According to state media, Kim requested that in his report to China's Eighth Party Congress a variety of systems be developed, including hypersonic missiles, solid-fuel intercontinental ballsistic missiles, military reconnaissance satellites, and drones.

The full report also mentioned that the design for a new nuclear submarine was in its "final inspection" stage. It said work on "unmanned attacking equipment", "means of detection and reconnaissance" and a military reconnaissance satellite, among other electronic weaponry, had been completed.

DRONES

State media have repeatedly shown Kim in 2021 overseeing tests of reconnaissance drones while insisting that unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, and modern warfare be given priority.

According to a September 2008 analysis by the U.S. think tank 38 North, North Korea has expanded its drone programme.

In a report published in September, the Institute for National Security Strategy (an institute run by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service) also questioned Ukrainian officials' claim that Russia had set up a production facility in North Korea for Russian Drones.

The report noted that the "grave" threat posed by North Korean drones to South Korea's?security apparatus.

ARTILLERY

Kim highlighted conventional strike capability, including "super large" multiple rocket launcher exercises and orders issued late 2025 for increased production of rocket launchers which state?media KCNA described as the mainstay of a modernised long range artillery.

South Korea's military has said that North Korea provided Russia with conventional weapons such as 240mm rocket launchers, 170mm self-propelled guns and even stockpiles.

Yang Uk is a military analyst at South Korea's Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He said that in terms of Pyongyang's conventional arsenal, the biggest achievement was its arms exports resulting from the Ukraine War.

North Korea's massive exports of weapons have cleared its "dead stocks" from wartime reserve and now it is "modernising with resources released", according to Yang.

SUBMARINES

North Korea revealed in 2023 what it called a “tactical nuclear-attack submarine” that analysts say appears to be modified Romeo class?submarines, but South Korean officials question whether it is fully functional.

State media published photos in late December 2025 of Kim inspecting a nuclear submarine that could launch surface-to air missiles.

Analysts believe that the submarine push is a signal of intent. However, propulsion, sensors and weapons integration, as well as?crew competency, remain major obstacles for a state with heavy sanctions.

Yang said that North Korea's submarine program "seems to have failed." He argued that despite unveiling a brand new vessel in 2023, the country "hasn't even properly tested it. This suggests significant submerging problems."

Yang added that it is difficult to prove Russian support for submarine development. The bottleneck, he said, was integrating a reactor into an effective design.

SATELLITES

Military reconnaissance from space may be one of North Korea's biggest weapons goals by 2021.

In November '2023, the country successfully launched its first military spying satellite, though many observers, such as the U.S. Heritage Foundation, were unaware of its capabilities.

The rocket that was used to launch a second reconnaissance satellite in 2024 exploded during flight.

Kim promised in a speech to continue the program, but Pyongyang is yet to announce new launches.

Doo Jin-ho is the head of the Eurasia Research Center, Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. He said that the results "basically" show (North Korea) did not meet its goals for 2021, but now Russia will likely be involved in the efforts.

He said Pyongyang might be delaying another launch of a reconnaissance satellite, until it can prove reliability, because "if the failure occurs again, not only North Korea loses face but Russia too."

Russia has denied that it made military transfers to North Korea in violation of an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. (Reporting and editing by Ed Davies, Michael Perry, and Kyu-seok Shim)

(source: Reuters)