New satellite images show what could be the largest war ship ever in the North Korea – possibly more than double the size of any other from leader Kim Jong -un.
Images captured by independent suppliers of Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs on April 6 show the ship under construction at the Namor Naval Shipyard, on the western coast of North Korea, about 60 kilometers southwest of the capital Pyongyang.
Analysts say the images show the construction of weapons and other internal systems of the ship, which is probably a guided missile frigate (FFG) designed to transport missiles in vertical launch tubes for use against land and sea targets.
“The FFG is about 140 meters long, making it the largest war ship manufactured in North Korea,” according to an analysis by Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jennifer Jun of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
By way of comparison, the US Navy Arleigh Burke class’s freshers are 153 meters long and the constellation class frigates, under construction, will be 151 meters long.
The existence of the war ship is not a surprise.
The Kim regime has been engaged in a rapid modernization of its Armed Forces, developing a series of new weapons and testing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach virtually anywhere in the United States.
It has done it despite the sanctions of the United Nations that impose rigorous limits on their access to materials and technology necessary to develop these weapons.
But the narrower ties with Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine may have been helping North Korea to overtake UN sanctions, analysts say.
Kim Duk-Ki, a reformed South Korean Admiral, thinks Moscow may be providing technology for frigate missile systems.
The vessel images appeared in a report on Central Korean television, released late last year, about the Plenary -end session of the Workers Party in power. The images showed leader Kim to inspect the construction of the ship.
A image of Korean central television shows leader Kim Jong-un to check the work on a new war ship late last year (Korean Central Television via CNN Newsource)
KCTV video images show that the warship can have the type of weaponry of modern sea, including vertical launch cells that can be used to fire a variety of missiles.
Analysts also noted that the ship appears to be equipped with a phased matrix radar, capable of locating threats and targets faster and more accurately than the previously presented North Korean capacities.
Despite these evidence of advanced combat capabilities, analysts advised prudence in the formulation of assumptions.
The challenge of building war ships
Almost all Naval builders can hit the hull and propulsion systems, says Carl Schuster, an former US Navy captain and Hawaii -based analyst.
“However, modern war ships represent a challenge of integrating communications, electronics, weapons and electronic and acoustic sensor technologies.”
In an interview with CNN in March, South Korean legislator Kim Byung-Kee, a member of the National Assembly Information Services Commission, asked whether Pyongyang has a technical capacity to build an advanced war ship or infrastructures to support it.
“The functioning of such a large military war ship requires a significant budget. Not only do they have to build a war ship, but also form a team that operates it, which implies operating costs that include equipment and fuel. In addition, a large warship cannot come out alone. The question is whether North Korea can support costs,” he said.
Kim, reformed South Korean Admiral, is cautious not to underestimate the look of the final product, especially its lethality.
“If North Korea equip the new frigate with the hypersonic ballistic missile that claimed to have successfully tested in January, this will have a decisive impact on regional security,” says the former Navy officer.
After analyzing satellite images for CNN, Schuster states that it is likely that a year or more of work is likely so that the new North Korean war ship can start testing at sea.
“The construction of this ship is being delayed due to the lack of superstructure, sensors and weapons systems to be installed,” he adds.
The aged fleet of North Korea
North Korea Navy has about 400 patrol fighters and 70 submarines, according to the latest estimate of the US Defense Information Agency (day) in a 2021 report.
Although it is a large number of ships, most of them are old and small.
Joseph Dempsey, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote on a blog in January that Pyongyang has only two main surface fighters. These Najin class frigates – 1,600 ton ships dating from the early 1970s – are obsolete, he explained.
The day report states that the North Korean Navy would be largely reduced to coastal defense in any conflict with South Korea or the United States, both with much superior naval forces.
But North Korean leader Kim has made efforts to modernize his fleet. It is also developing missiles launched by submarines and the submarines that carry them.
In September, Kim inspected the place of construction of a new naval port.
“Now that soon we will have large surface war ships and submarines that cannot be anchored on existing facilities to attract war ships, the construction of a naval base to operate the last large war ships has become an urgent task,” he said at the time.
Yu Yong-Won, a South Korean legislator, said the ship under construction at the Nampo shipyard is just an example of Kim’s attempt to modernize his navy.
A nuclear propulsion submarine is being built in a shipyard in Sinpo North Korean port and another frigate or destroyer is under construction in Chongjin, Yu concluded.
Gianluca Mezzofiore contributed to this report
