New tactics and conventional weapons: North Korea's bombing of the West becomes a realistic scenario

North Korea is practicing swarm attacks involving drones and conventional missiles, a tactic that is becoming a real threat to Western air defense systems. Experts warn that combining drones with North Korean missiles could deplete South Korea's air defenses and enable tactical nuclear strikes.

Under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has recently been practicing swarm attacks involving unmanned systems and conventional weapons. This tactic, which has become routine in the war in Ukraine and the conflict with Iran, exposes a significant vulnerability in Western air defense systems, which rely on expensive interceptors. Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted that swarm tactics completely change the math of air defense. Close cooperation with Russia is accelerating the modernization of the North Korean military. An analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies shows that Russia is expected to launch 840 ballistic missiles at Ukraine this year, a jump of nearly 50 percent compared to 2025, partly due to extensive missile supplies from North Korea. The interception rate of ballistic missiles in Ukraine has dropped from 24 percent in 2025 to about 10 percent this year. In the Middle East, Iran attempted to overwhelm defense systems using low-cost 'Shahed' drone and missile swarms. Lami Kim, an East Asia expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, emphasized that combining drones with North Korean missiles could deplete South Korea's air defenses and dramatically increase the success chances of follow-up attacks using tactical nuclear weapons.