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🇿🇦 South Africa /Energy & Infrastructure

Kim Jong Un says North Korea’s new destroyer will join nuclear response system

From Daily Maverick · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement New plan
  • Kim Jong Un said North Korea’s 5,000-ton-class Kang Kon destroyer would join the country’s state nuclear response system.
  • The vessel is the second warship of its class to enter service, as Pyongyang accelerates efforts to modernize its navy and expand nuclear-capable forces.
  • KCNA did not specify whether the destroyer would carry nuclear weapons, while Kim said North Korea was building naval bases, units and additional warships.

Kim Jong Un has declared that North Korea’s newest destroyer will become part of the country’s nuclear response system, linking the navy directly to his broader expansion of nuclear-capable forces.

Speaking at a commissioning ceremony in the eastern port city of Wonsan, Kim said the ship’s deployment to waters east of the Korean Peninsula sent a clear signal to North Korea’s adversaries. “The time has come for us to exercise our sovereignty at sea and under water,” he said, according to state news agency KCNA.

The 5,000-ton-class Kang Kon is the second destroyer of its class to enter service. KCNA said it followed the Choe Hyon, which was commissioned on North Korea’s west coast about three months earlier. The agency said the new vessel carries the same weapons systems as the Choe Hyon, but did not specify what those systems are.

An earlier KCNA report said Choe Hyon-class destroyers could carry various weapons, including missiles that analysts say may be capable of carrying a nuclear payload. Kim said North Korea’s naval nuclear armaments were advancing and that the country would continue placing its most powerful strategic assets in key waters to protect maritime sovereignty and regional security.

Kim also said he would demonstrate another stage of the naval buildup within eight months. He gave no details. Construction of naval bases on the east coast was under way, he said, alongside plans to create new naval units and build different classes of warships.

The time has come for us to exercise our sovereignty at sea and under water.

· Kim Jong UnKim spoke at the commissioning ceremony for the Kang Kon destroyer in Wonsan.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Maverick in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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