Kim Jong Un Inspects Naval Destroyer 'Kang Gon' with Daughter Ju Ae

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently visited the naval destroyer 'Kang Gon' to observe its sea trials, marking a significant inspection of the country's naval capabilities. Notably, his daughter, Ju Ae, accompanied him on the vessel, a 5,000-ton class destroyer that had previously experienced an incident of running aground shortly after its launch.

The state-run Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim reviewed the ship's operational readiness, including its command systems and armament testing phases. During the visit, Kim stressed the critical importance of possessing substantial military power, capable of exercising sovereign rights across land, sea, and air, as a means to deter conflict and preserve peace. He reiterated this as a steadfast principle of his party and national defense policy.

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We must possess substantial military power capable of responsibly exercising military sovereignty in any space, be it on land, sea, or air, to deter war and defend peace. This is an unwavering tenet of our party and our national defense policy.

Kim also highlighted the strategic imperative of rapidly enhancing the navy's capacity to serve as a reliable component of the nation's nuclear deterrence. He emphasized the goal of developing the naval forces into a unit capable of delivering swift, decisive strikes against adversaries from both underwater and surface platforms at any given time. This modernization effort is considered a primary objective within the party's new five-year defense development plan.

The leader urged for the swift commissioning of the destroyers 'Choi Hyun' and 'Kang Gon' into the navy. The 'Kang Gon' had a troubled introduction, having capsized shortly after its launch ceremony in May last year, requiring approximately three weeks of repairs before being relaunched in June. The inspection underscores North Korea's continued focus on bolstering its naval strength and strategic military posture.

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Especially, the issue of rapidly strengthening our naval forces into a capacity that can reliably serve as a pillar of nuclear war deterrence, and as a unit that can deliver fatal blows to the enemy at any time from underwater and on the surface, is the most important core task our party has designated in the new five-year national defense development policy.