North Korea commissions new destroyer Kang Kon with Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju Ae in attendance

North Korea has formally commissioned the 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon, presenting the vessel’s arrival in the East Sea Fleet as a message to its opponents. Kim Jong Un attended the ceremony at Wonsan Port on September 6, alongside his daughter, Kim Ju Ae.

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Kang Kon has the same class and weapons systems as the Choe Hyon, which has already been delivered to the West Sea Fleet.

The Rodong Sinmun reported the event on September 7. The ceremony coincided with the start of Freedom Edge, a multidomain maritime exercise involving South Korea, the United States and Japan, and came shortly before North Korea’s September 9 founding anniversary.

Kim said Kang Kon has the same class and weapons systems as the Choe Hyon, a destroyer already delivered to the West Sea Fleet. He said the ship’s formal entry into service with the East Sea naval force, together with information about construction of an East Sea naval base, would send “a clear signal to the enemies.”

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The fact that it is formally commissioned into the East Sea naval force, along with information about the construction of an East Sea naval base, will be a clear signal to the enemies.

Kim also invoked Wonsan Port’s historical symbolism. He referred to the port as the place where the Kaesongho, also known as the Pugachov, once anchored after Kim Il Sung entered the country following the end of Japanese colonial rule. “At the place where the anchor of national liberation was lowered, we raised the anchor for building a maritime power,” he said.

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At the place where the anchor of national liberation was lowered, we raised the anchor for building a maritime power.