North Korea must build, every year over the next five years, two warships of the same size as the 5,000 metric ton “Choe Hyon” vessel, leader Kim Jong-un said during a destroyer commissioning ceremony this Tuesday (23), according to the state agency KCNA.
Kim attended the ceremony held at Nampho Port in , to celebrate the entry into service of the new multi-purpose destroyer “Choe Hyon”, KCNA reported.
The destroyer has successfully completed military operational tests over the past 14 months, the agency added.
The country plans to soon put into operation another 5,000-ton destroyer called “Kang Kon” along with 10,000-ton strategic warships, Kim was quoted as saying.
The “Kang Kon” underwent repairs last year after it partially capsized during a launch ceremony.
The navy was the weakest link in North Korean military forces, Kim said, adding that its capabilities would now be “something incredible, beyond imagination.”
“The construction of a modernized naval base has emerged as an urgent and essential task,” Kim said.
He said officials from the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party discussed plans to build new naval bases at a meeting on Monday.
The most important change for the navy would be a change in its status, role and scope of operations, Kim said, without providing additional details.
it is “advancing its own course” by contributing to the country’s nuclear deterrent, he said.
