{"id":87009,"date":"2026-06-25T21:16:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T01:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/south-korea-plans-massive-drone-expansion-to-counter-north-korea\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T21:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T01:16:28","slug":"south-korea-plans-massive-drone-expansion-to-counter-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/south-korea-plans-massive-drone-expansion-to-counter-north-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea Plans Massive Drone Expansion to Counter North Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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SEOUL \u2014 South Korea is moving aggressively to build up its drone warfare capabilities, with plans to train half a million so-called “drone warriors” and purchase more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable drones, according to the country’s Defence Ministry, which announced the initiative on Friday.<\/p>

Beyond those acquisitions, the South Korean military intends to manufacture 110,000 drones between now and 2029, with the goal of distributing them across various military units. Officials described the effort as part of a larger strategy to strengthen the country’s unmanned systems and better position its forces against the threat posed by North Korea.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korea’s Defence Ministry announced a sweeping plan to dramatically grow its drone and counter-drone forces. The initiative includes training 500,000 drone operators and acquiring tens of thousands of unmanned aircraft. The effort is aimed at strengthening South Korea’s military capabilities against North Korea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":87008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[832],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782436588534.jpg?fit=450%2C338&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-mDn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22898,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/kim-jong-un-shows-off-50-new-missile-launchers-before-key-party-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":87009,"position":0},"title":"Kim Jong Un Shows Off 50 New Missile Launchers Before Key Party Meeting","author":"Admin","date":"February 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un displayed 50 new nuclear-capable missile launch vehicles during a ceremony ahead of a major ruling party congress. 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The president called the actions irresponsible and pledged to prevent similar incidents in the future.","rel":"","context":"In "World News"","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775442142592.jpg?fit=450%2C297&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":80389,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/former-south-korean-leader-gets-30-years-for-ordering-drone-missions\/","url_meta":{"origin":87009,"position":2},"title":"Former South Korean Leader Gets 30 Years for Ordering Drone Missions","author":"Admin","date":"June 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A South Korean court sentenced the country's former president and his ex-defense minister to 30 years in prison for allegedly orchestrating drone flights over North Korea's capital. Prosecutors claimed the missions were designed to escalate tensions and provide justification for imposing martial law domestically.","rel":"","context":"In "World News"","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1781235437309.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1781235437309.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1781235437309.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1781235437309.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47923,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/north-korea-praises-south-korean-leaders-apology-over-drone-incidents\/","url_meta":{"origin":87009,"position":3},"title":"North Korea Praises South Korean Leader’s Apology Over Drone Incidents","author":"Admin","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"North Korea called South Korean President Lee Jae Myung \"wise\" after he apologized for civilian drone flights that crossed into North Korean airspace. 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