New Delhi: North Korea has commissioned the 5,000-tonne Choe Hyon-class destroyer Kang Kon for deployment off its east coast, giving its naval modernization programme a second major surface combatant. The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said at the ceremony that the warship would become part of Pyongyang’s nuclear response system and strengthen its capacity to carry out retaliatory strikes.
The commissioning took place at the eastern port city of Wonsan on Sunday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The Kang Kon is the second vessel of the Choe Hyon class to enter service, following the induction of the lead ship on North Korea’s west coast about three months earlier.
KCNA did not specify the weapons installed on the Kang Kon, although it said the destroyer carried the same systems as the Choe Hyon. North Korean accounts of the class have referred to strategic cruise missiles and other weapons that analysts believe could potentially carry nuclear warheads, but there has been no independent confirmation that either vessel is presently armed with nuclear weapons.
The Kang Kon completed a series of combat-system evaluations before entering service, including the test-firing of a strategic cruise missile on July 3. Those trials also covered anti-ship, anti-submarine and air-defence weapons, naval guns, automatic cannons, target-detection equipment, information-processing systems and electronic-warfare capabilities.
The destroyer’s commissioning marked a recovery from a highly publicized setback during its first launch attempt at Chongjin on May 21, 2025. The vessel partially capsized after the launch mechanism malfunctioned, prompting Kim to condemn the accident and order its rapid restoration before it was refloated and formally launched the following month.
Kim signals a sea-based role for his nuclear forces
Kim said deploying the Kang Kon in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula sent a direct message to countries that Pyongyang considers hostile. He declared that North Korea had reached the point at which it should exercise its sovereignty at sea and underwater, presenting the vessel as part of a wider effort to extend the country’s military reach beyond land-based forces.
The destroyer would form part of the state’s nuclear response system and contribute to what Kim described as the capacity to deliver “annihilating retaliatory strikes”, KCNA reported. His remarks appeared to assign the vessel a role in nuclear deterrence, although the precise command arrangements and operational doctrine governing such a mission remain unclear.
Kim also said North Korea’s naval nuclear armament programme was advancing and promised to position more strategic assets in important waters. He added that the country would establish new naval units, construct different classes of warships and continue building naval bases along its east coast.
North Korea has announced plans to construct two 5,000-tonne warships annually over the next five years as part of an ambitious fleet-expansion programme. Kim has also ordered the development of 10,000-tonne “strategic” warships and previously referred to efforts involving nuclear-powered submarines and other underwater weapons.
The Kang Kon’s commissioning coincided with the start of the annual Freedom Edge exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan in international waters near South Korea’s Jeju Island. The three countries said the maritime and air exercise was intended to improve their deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile forces.
Kim promised that another stage of the naval build-up would be demonstrated within eight months but did not disclose what platform would be unveiled. His daughter, Kim Ju-ae, occupied a prominent position during the commissioning ceremony, once again fuelling assessments in South Korea that she is being prepared for a possible future leadership role.