North Korea Commissions Nuclear-Capable Naval Destroyer Kang Kon
Key Takeaways
- •Kim Jong-un attended the commissioning of the 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon at Wonsan, calling it an offensive vessel within the state nuclear counteraction system.
- •The destroyer will join the East Sea Fleet, where it is tasked with defending maritime sovereignty as a nuclear war deterrent.
- •The Kang Kon entered service less than three months after its sister ship, the Choe Hyon, which is stationed in the West Sea.
- •The vessel capsized during its first launch attempt in May last year and was successfully relaunched roughly a month later, with strategic cruise missile tests conducted from it in July.
- •North Korea plans to build additional warships over 5,000 tons, including 10,000-ton-class vessels, within five years, and Kim promised to demonstrate a naval strengthening plan within eight months.
North Korea has commissioned its new naval destroyer Kang Kon, state media reported Monday, as the country pushes to modernize its naval assets and sharpen its combat readiness at sea with nuclear-capable vessels.
Leader Kim Jong-un attended the commissioning ceremony, held a day earlier at the eastern port city of Wonsan, where he described the new 5,000-ton destroyer as "essentially an offensive destroyer" and part of "the state nuclear counteraction system," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"The new-generation destroyer should deal a deadly retaliatory blow at the enemies as it is a force involved in the state nuclear counteraction system," the KCNA reported Kim as saying.
Kim stressed the need to develop the country's navy into "a nuclear armed force" in order to carry out maritime defense and war deterrence activities "more clearly." He also vowed to continue developing North Korea's naval forces and deploying increasingly powerful strategic assets.
"We are in the process of implementing an important plan to bolster our navy forces, and I will prove it to the world eight months from now," he said.
The destroyer will join the North Korean Navy's East Sea Fleet "to fulfill the responsible mission of defending the maritime sovereignty of the DPRK as the nuclear war deterrent," the KCNA said, using North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Photos released by the state media outlet showed Kim accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his daughter, Ju-ae.
The Kang Kon was commissioned less than three months after the North brought into service its sister ship, the first 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon, which it said would carry out the "honorable mission" of defending the West Sea and deterring war.
The Kang Kon's path to service was not without setbacks. The vessel capsized during a botched initial launch attempt in May last year and was successfully launched about a month later.
In July, North Korea test-fired strategic cruise missiles and other weapons from the destroyer into the East Sea, with Kim overseeing the drills. At that time, he ordered the warship to be commissioned into the Navy within two months.
North Korea has been accelerating its push to deploy naval assets with nuclear capabilities on both coasts, stationing the Choe Hyon in the West Sea and the Kang Kon in the East Sea. Early this year, Pyongyang unveiled plans to build two large warships of over 5,000 tons over the next five years, including 10,000-ton-class vessels. The naval buildup comes amid long-standing international sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's weapons programs, and Kim's reference to proving an "important plan" to the world within eight months signals that further tests or deployments of larger vessels are among the developments neighboring countries and analysts will be watching for.
Source: The Korea Times
