North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended weapons tests on the new destroyer Choe Hyon, which included the launch of supersonic, strategic cruise and anti-aircraft missiles, Korean media reported on Wednesday.
The DPRK military conducted test launches of supersonic and strategic cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, as well as test firing of a 127-mm deck-mounted automatic gun.
The North Korean leader highly praised the combat readiness of the destroyer’s weapon systems, as well as the ship’s fire control systems, which effectively combine “the most powerful strike weapons” with general defence systems.
On Tuesday, test firing of anti-ship tactical guided weapons, various deck-mounted automatic guns, smoke guns and radio jamming guns also took place.
On April 25, a ceremony was held to launch the 5,000-tonne warship Choe Hyon. During the ceremony, Kim Jong Un called the construction of the destroyer a breakthrough in the modernisation of the navy. He also emphasised that Pyongyang plans to continue building warships of the same class next year, as well as larger cruisers.
The destroyer is named after anti-Japanese resistance fighter and revolutionary Choe Hyong. The destroyer’s weapons systems were tested by the DPRK’s General Bureau of Missile Design, the National Defence Academy and the General Bureau of Radio-Electronic Warfare.
In early April, the DPRK successfully tested a new medium- and long-range missile, the Hwasong-16B, with a hypersonic gliding warhead. The DPRK resumed testing ballistic missiles with gliding warheads in January 2024.
