North Korean leader inspects new warship, claims progress toward nuclear-armed navy

Seoul, South Korea — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his new destroyer two days before its commissioning and watched a test of cruise missiles fired from the warship, vowing to speed up his navy’s nuclear-weapons, state media said Thursday.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim also inspected a third destroyer of the same class as his 5,000-ton warship Cho Han, first unveiled in April 2025, during a visit to Nampo’s western shipyard on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kim hailed Cho Hyon’s development as a significant advance toward his nuclear-armed military’s goal of expanding its operational range and preemptive strike capabilities. State media say the ship is designed to carry a variety of weapons systems, including anti-aircraft and anti-naval weapons, as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean military officials and experts say the Cho Hyon was built with Russian help, but some have raised doubts about whether it is ready for active service amid deepening military ties.

North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year, but it was damaged during a launch ceremony in the northeastern port of Changjin, prompting a furious reaction from Kim, who called the failure a “crime”. North Korea said the new destroyer, named Kang Kon, had been relaunched after repairs in June, but outside experts questioned whether the ship was fully operational.

After watching Cho Hyon’s sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship had met operational requirements and was a sign of the country’s expanding naval capabilities. He called for the construction of two battleships per year for the next five years of the same class or higher than Cho Hyeon.

Kim returned on Wednesday to watch a test launch of cruise missiles by Cho Hyon. State media published photos showing several projectiles rising from the ship in plumes of white smoke as they watched from shore, and described the weapons as “strategic”, used for nuclear-capable systems.

After years of promoting ballistic missile development, Kim has turned more attention to naval capabilities, including the ongoing construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. A third destroyer under construction at Nampo Shipyard is expected to be completed by the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party in October, KCNA said.

Naval capabilities were also a major focus when Kim outlined his five-year military goals at the Workers’ Party Congress last month, including calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater.

Kim claimed on Tuesday that his efforts to equip his navy with nuclear weapons were making “satisfactory” progress. Those proposed advances “represent a radical change in protecting our maritime sovereignty, something we haven’t achieved in half a century,” he said.

KCNA did not elaborate on what Kim meant. Some analysts say North Korea is preparing to formally declare an encroachable maritime boundary over waters controlled by rival South Korea.

As tensions between the Koreas escalate, Kim has repeatedly said he does not recognize the northern demarcation line drawn by the US-led UN Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The poorly delineated western sea border has been the site of several deadly naval clashes over the years.

At the party congress, Kim doubled down on plans to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which is already equipped with various weapons systems that threaten the United States and US allies in Asia, and reaffirmed his hardline view of rival South Korea.

But he opened the door to dialogue with the Trump administration, reiterating Pyongyang’s demand that Washington drop its insistence on denuclearization as a precondition for resuming long-stalled talks.