The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, has announced that he plans to build at least two warships of five thousand tons or more per year and equip them with nuclear weapons, state media reported today. According to the official North Korean news agency KCNA, the destroyer Choe Hyon entered service with the North Korean Navy on Tuesday.
This official entry into service followed a ceremony in the port city of Nampo. At the ceremony, Kim emphasized Pyongyang’s plans to annually build two ships of equal or greater tonnage, which explicitly includes ten-thousand-ton cruisers in the future.
“The plan to equip the Navy with nuclear weapons is progressing as planned,” Kim stated.
Kim emphasized during the event that Pyongyang’s maritime capabilities will allow the country to assume a strong and reliable role in its ongoing nuclear deterrence efforts. The Choe Hyon is the first five-thousand-ton destroyer to enter service in the Navy, while the Kang Geon, a ship of the same class, began evaluation tests earlier this month.
Read more about this topic: North Korea discharges projectile into the Yellow Sea
A future ten-thousand-ton ship would be similar in scale to the Arleigh Burke class, which is currently the most numerous and prominent class in the United States Navy.
This week, the leader reaffirmed North Korea’s commitment to the active development of its nuclear arsenal in the face of what he described as indiscriminate use of force.
He attributed this use of force to the United States, alongside the Middle East conflict. North Korea has strongly reiterated that it will not engage in any dialogue with Washington or Seoul if those respective nations continue to strictly insist on full denuclearization.
This is an issue Pyongyang omitted during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in early June.
