(2nd LD) N. Korea unveils new destroyer, pledges to strengthen naval power
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; RESTRUCTURES; ADDS more info in last 10 paras)
SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) — North Korea has unveiled its new destroyer for the country’s navy as part of its broader plan to enhance maritime power, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday.
On Friday, Pyongyang held a launching ceremony of its new 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer at a shipyard in the North’s western port city of Nampho, according to the report by the KCNA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the ceremony with his daughter, known as Ju-ae, and examined the newly built naval warship, named the Choe Hyon after a deceased North Korean anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter.
The ship, planned to be delivered to the North Korean navy early next year, is armed with weapons systems that significantly enhance its air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-ballistic missile operations, the report said.
It can also be equipped with supersonic strategic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles for precise land attack operations.
This photo, released by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, shows Pyongyang’s new navy destroyer unveiled at a launching ceremony held at a shipyard in the North’s western port city of Nampho on April 25, 2025. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
In a speech at the ceremony, Kim was quoted as saying the destroyer will build up the strength for “thoroughly defending” the maritime sovereignty of North Korea and serve as an important starting point on its road toward advanced maritime power.
Kim said the “strength to launch aggression is directly proportional to the strength to prevent aggression,” stressing the need to possess a “pelagic fleet” amid a “serious threat” to North Korea’s security environment, according to the KCNA.
“The most reliable means to proactively and safely manage the military threats on the Korean Peninsula, including nuclear threats, and to restrain and block any attempt by hostile overseas forces to reinforce their military presence on the peninsula, is to possess pelagic operational capabilities,” Kim said.
He also pledged to construct more warships of “Choe Hyon class” and larger cruisers, as well as various types of escort ships, next year and also develop “nuclear-powered submarines” in the future.
The North Korean leader also denounced joint military drills by South Korea and the United States in March and their signing of a new joint wartime operations plan last year, which was revealed at a U.S. House Armed Services Committee meeting earlier this month.
“The new nuclear war plan of the U.S. and South Korea is the clearest expression of hostile intent toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and constitutes a direct threat to regional and global peace,” Kim said. The DPRK is the official name of North Korea.
“We will respond decisively to these geopolitical developments and emerging trends, and will take corresponding countermeasures.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) and his daughter, known as Ju-ae (R), attend a launching ceremony of the country’s new destroyer for the navy held at a shipyard in the North’s western port city of Nampho on April 25, 2025, in this photo released by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
According to experts, the ceremony reflected Pyongyang’s efforts to build a platform capable of delivering nuclear attacks from the sea.
“The new destroyer unveiled by North Korea appears to be equipped with three separate sections of vertical launch systems, an Aegis radar capable of 360-degree surveillance, an advanced naval gun system and a close-in weapon system,” said Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the conservative People Power Party, a former military affairs reporter.
“In particular, the battleship seems to carry dozens of VLS cells capable of launching various types of missiles, including cruise missiles,” he added.
North Korea seems to be putting in efforts to bolster its conventional military capabilities, following the completion of its nuclear and missile programs, he explained.
“I think North Korea is working to develop platforms capable of delivering nuclear strikes not only from land but also from the sea.”
Prior to the development of the “Choe Hyon class” destroyer, North Korea’s most advanced warship was a 1,500-ton frigate, according to Seoul’s defense white paper.
In comparison, the South Korean Navy operates 12 destroyers, including the 7,600-ton Sejong the Great and the 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great, and 17 frigates.
Meanwhile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, “The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. have been closely monitoring the naval vessel construction trends of the North Korean military.”
“(The Choe Hyon destroyer) is the largest warship constructed by North Korea, but the North will need considerable time to properly operate the vessel because it requires studying and training,” an official at the JCS said.
“Since a warship’s capability largely depends on the weapons systems it carries, further analysis is required.”
nyway@yna.co.kr
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