Chief Kim Jong Un says vessel will kind a part of Pyongyang’s nuclear response system, strengthen naval forces.
Printed On 7 Sep 2026
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un attended the commissioning of a warship he stated may ship “annihilating retaliatory strikes on an enemy”, citing “fixed threats”, in line with the state-run Korean Central Information Company (KCNA).
The Kang Kon, named after the North Korean navy chief who was killed in motion in the course of the Korean Warfare, was formally deployed at a ceremony on the japanese Wonsan Port in Kangwon Province on Sunday.
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In his tackle, Kim stated the warship “represents the self-respect and can” of North Korea to defend its rights and pursuits, KCNA reported.
“The time has come for us to train our sovereignty at sea and beneath water,” Kim stated, in line with KCNA.
He stated that “harmful shadows should be erased” and that North Korea was beneath fixed menace within the “sea east of the Korean Peninsula and close by waters”, KCNA reported.
KCNA didn’t specify what weapons programs could be deployed on the Kang Kon, however stated it has the identical weapons programs because the 5,000-tonne warship Choe Hyon launched in June.
A earlier KCNA report stated Choe Hyon-class destroyers can carry a variety of weapons, together with missiles that analysts say are able to carrying a nuclear payload.
Sunday marks the third launch of the Kang Kon; the destroyer partially capsized in the course of the first commissioning in Might 2025 earlier than it was repaired and relaunched the next month. It underwent additional repairs and sea trials earlier than finishing weapons testing in July this yr.
Kim stated he would exhibit one other stage of North Korea’s naval buildup in eight months, KCNA stated, with out giving particulars.
North Korea has accelerated efforts to modernise its navy as Kim pursues a broader growth of the nation’s nuclear-capable forces.
He additionally stated the development of naval bases on North Korea’s east coast was beneath manner and that the nation would create new naval models and construct totally different lessons of warships.
Pyongyang, which calls itself an “irreversible” nuclear state, frames the build-up as deterrence towards Washington and Seoul. The Korean Peninsula stays technically at warfare, and Kim has accused the allies of driving the area “to the brink of a nuclear warfare”.
