North Korea has formally commissioned a second nuclear-capable Choe Hyon-class destroyer, the Kang Kon, into its navy, according to state media reports.
Kim Jong Un oversaw a grand commissioning ceremony on Sunday, according to the state-owned KCNA. He said that the destroyer represented the country’s growing naval capabilities and its determination to defend its “maritime sovereignty”.
The hermit kingdom’s leader said North Korea intended to develop its navy into a nuclear-armed force, with the destroyer incorporated into its nuclear deterrence system and capable of carrying out nuclear counter-strike missions.
“There is no other guarantee for defending peace but to ensure the balance of force and we will show our principled and responsible will to defend the maritime sovereignty of the Republic, the security environment in Northeast Asia and the world peace by deploying the most powerful strategic assets in the most important waters,” he was quoted as saying.
State news agency KCNA quoted Kim as saying that “the new-generation destroyer should deal a deadly retaliatory blow at the enemies as it is a force involved in the state nuclear counteraction system”.
The ship was assigned to the East Sea Fleet, the outlet said.
Kim also said Pyongyang would continue deploying powerful strategic assets in key waters to maintain a balance of forces and deter its adversaries.
According to KCNA, “the destroyer Kang Kon is the second Choe Hyon-class destroyer possessed of the complex combat capability to perfectly complete the operational mission assigned to it even in any waters by accepting the original conceptions for bolstering the naval combat power in a Korean way”.
The destroyer has been named after a North Korean military leader who was killed in action during the Korean War, according to Reuters.
Earlier reports from North Korea have indicated that Choe Hyon-class destroyers can carry a range of weapons, including missiles that analysts say could be capable of delivering a nuclear payload.
open image in galleryIn recent times, Kim has doubled down on North Korea’s nuclear expansion while keeping the door open to talks with Washington, saying Pyongyang could coexist with the US if Washington dropped its “hostile” policy. Kim has previously called for Washington to abandon its demands for the North’s denuclearisation as a precondition for resuming talks.
But his regime has hardened its rhetoric towards South Korea, with Kim warning that the North could destroy Seoul if threatened and calling for new weapons, including submarine-launched ICBMs and more tactical nuclear arms.
open image in galleryAccording to North Korean media, the first Choe Hyon-class destroyer underwent around 14 months of operational evaluations and sea trials before entering active service in June this year.
North Korea unveiled the Kang Kon in May last year, but the destroyer was damaged during a botched launch at the northern port of Chongjin, prompting a furious response from Kim. Pyongyang later said the ship was relaunched in June after repairs, although outside experts at the time questioned whether it was fully operational.
At the Ninth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee in December 2023, he had called for a “second revolution of the warship-building industry”, identifying naval construction as a national strategic priority.
“The vessel is substantially larger than the frigates, corvettes, and missile craft that have traditionally formed the backbone of the Korean People’s Navy, reflecting Pyongyang’s effort to field larger multi-mission surface combatants capable of operating beyond its traditional coastal defence role,” 38 North – a publication of the Stimson Center that analyses North Korean policy and its impact on global security – said at the time.