N Korea’s Kim eyes more warships as damaged destroyer relaunched

North Korean person says restoration of caller vas named Kang Kon has not delayed Pyongyang’s bid to boost naval power.

North Korean person Kim Jong Un has promised to physique much warships and deploy them to the Pacific Ocean, arsenic helium officiated astatine the relaunching of a destroyer that partially sank during its inauguration past month, authorities media reports.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported connected Friday that Kim presided implicit the ceremonial for the 5,000-tonne destroyer astatine the Rajin shipyard successful the country’s acold north. The vessel has been named Kang Kon aft a elder North Korean subject authoritative who was killed successful enactment during the Korean War.

In a code astatine the ceremonial connected Thursday, Kim was quoted arsenic saying that repairs to the destroyer “had not delayed” North Korea’s attempts to heighten naval power.

“In 2 weeks’ time, the vas was brought upright safely and acceptable afloat, accomplishing its implicit restoration contiguous arsenic planned,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

The North Korean person besides announced that plans were successful spot “to physique 2 much 5,000-tonne destroyers adjacent year”, arsenic helium called for his state to fortify its maritime subject beingness successful the Pacific Ocean successful the look of what helium said were provocations by the United States and its allies.

“Soon, enemies volition experience, themselves, however provocative and unpleasant it is to beryllium and ticker the ships of an adversary tally rampant connected the fringes of sovereign waters,” Kim said.

North Korean person Kim Jong Un waves from the warship that had been damaged upon its archetypal effort to launch, arsenic helium and his girl Kim Ju Ae be the warship’s relaunching ceremony, successful Rajin, North Korea, connected June 12, 2025 [KCNA via Reuters]

“I’m definite that successful the adjacent future, the routes of our battleships … volition beryllium opened connected the Pacific Ocean toward the outposts of aggression,” helium said.

Recent outer images had shown ongoing repairs of the Kang Kon destroyer that had partially capsized successful May during a botched inaugural motorboat that Kim described arsenic a “criminal act”.

The recently launched Kang Kon is North Korea’s 2nd known destroyer and is seen arsenic a important plus successful Kim’s extremity of modernising his country’s naval forces.

The South Korean subject estimates, based connected its size and scale, that the caller warship is likewise equipped to the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vas Choe Hyon, which North Korea built with Russian assistance and launched successful May.

Kim has been pushing for the modernisation of his subject and calling for an assertive effect to threats from the US and South Korea, who are cardinal allies and regularly behaviour subject drills together.

On Wednesday, the White House said that US President Donald Trump would invited communications with Kim aft having had affable relations with him during his archetypal word successful office.

But the South Korea-based NK News, which monitors North Korea, reported precocious that Pyongyang’s delegation astatine the United Nations successful New York had repeatedly refused to judge a letter from Trump to Kim.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies