Kim Jong Un has personally overseen a series of missile launches from a newly built destroyer, as North Korean state media highlighted advances in naval strike capabilities and reiterated a commitment to expanding the country’s nuclear deterrent.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended tests of missile systems aboard the destroyer Choe Hyon, according to state media reports on Tuesday.
Accompanied by senior defence industry officials and commanders of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) Navy, Kim observed the launch of two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from the vessel. The missiles flew over the West Korea Bay and reportedly struck their targets with “high precision.”
The exercise was designed to assess the ship’s integrated weapons command system, refine the crew’s live-fire operational capabilities, and verify the accuracy of an upgraded active anti-jamming navigation system.
Following the drills, Kim was presented with plans detailing the weapons configuration for the third and fourth destroyers of the Choe Hyon class currently under construction. He expressed “great satisfaction” with what state media described as significant progress made by the country’s defence industry in recent years, saying these developments had substantially strengthened the KPA’s readiness for strategic operations.
Kim also stressed that the “continuous and limitless” expansion of a powerful and reliable nuclear deterrent remains the foremost priority of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. He outlined key objectives aimed at further enhancing the military’s capacity to carry out both strategic and tactical strikes.
