Kim Jong Un warns against South Korea-U.S. and trilateral drills at new destroyer commissioning

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used the commissioning of a new 5,000-ton destroyer to warn that his country would speed up its naval buildup in response to South Korean, U.S. and trilateral military exercises.

The Kang Kon-ho entered the East Sea fleet at a ceremony held at Wonsan Port, state media reported. Kim said the East Sea had become a strategically important area because foreign warships, nuclear assets and joint war exercises appeared there while North Korea’s efforts to exercise what it called its legitimate right to self-defense were being monitored and restrained.

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The fact that Kang Kon-ho is formally entering the East Sea maritime force, and the information that naval bases are being built in the East Sea, sends a clear signal to the enemies.

Kim said the ship’s entry into service and the construction of naval bases in the East Sea sent a clear signal to North Korea’s adversaries. He told the ship’s commanders and marines that the vessel formed part of the country’s nuclear response system and demanded the capability to deliver “devastating retaliatory strikes.” He also said North Korea was implementing important plans to strengthen its navy and would demonstrate them to the world again in eight months.

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There will never again be a past in which we merely watched enemy vessels roam the outskirts of our sovereign waters.

The ceremony followed the commissioning of the destroyer Choe Hyon-ho in the West Sea on June 23. The timing fueled expectations that North Korea could unveil weapons symbolizing further naval expansion, including a nuclear-powered submarine, next May. Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification said Kim’s remarks pointed to an effort to deter U.S. reinforcements and carrier strike groups through an anti-access and area-denial strategy. Hong noted that North Korea still lacked sufficient naval-base infrastructure and support vessels, but warned that a rapid buildup could sharply increase tensions over the next several years.

Kim’s daughter Ju Ae and his wife Ri Sol Ju appeared at the ceremony. Kim also linked the event to North Korea’s national founding anniversary, recalling that Kim Il Sung had arrived at Wonsan Port from Russia aboard the ship Kaesongho 81 years earlier and presenting the new commissioning as the start of a maritime-power project at the site where the country’s liberation had been anchored.

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North Korea could sharply raise tensions in a few years if it continues this speed campaign and responds to South Korea-U.S. exercises and strategic-weapons deployments.