North Korea has unveiled a “new, multi-purpose destroyer” equipped with what it claims are the “most powerful weapons,” during a ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.
The warship, named “Choe Hyon,” is a 5,000-tonne destroyer constructed using the country’s “own resources and technologies,” the North Korean news agency reported.
Experts believe the ship can carry both surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. The American-based site NK News speculates that the destroyer could likely be “equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles.”
Kim Jong Un, citing KCNA, stated that the vessel, set to “enter service early next year,” would be a vital component of national defence and an element of nuclear deterrence for the North Korean navy.
He also accused the United States of conducting “aggressive exercises simulating nuclear strikes” on North Korea as part of joint operations with South Korea’s conventional military forces.
At the end of March, Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of new drones featuring artificial intelligence (AI) technology, raising concerns about heightened military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Pyongyang has reportedly sent thousands of soldiers to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to sources in Seoul, Kyiv, and Washington.
North Korea possesses nuclear weapons and has declared its status as a nuclear power “irreversible.”
Former US President Donald Trump, who met with Kim Jong Un three times during his first term without securing concessions on nuclear matters, stated in April that he is “in communication” with Kim, according to the South Korean agency Yonhap.
