North Korea has unveiled a new destroyer for its navy, aligning with its broader strategy to boost maritime strength, the Yonhap News reported Saturday, citing Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Pyongyang on Friday held a launch ceremony for its new 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer at a shipyard in Nampho, a port city on North Korea's western coast.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the ceremony and inspected the newly constructed warship, named Choe Hyon in honor of a late anti-Japanese fighter.
Set to be delivered to the North Korean navy early next year, the vessel is equipped with advanced weapons systems designed to improve its capabilities in air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and anti-ballistic missile operations, the report said.
The ship can also be fitted with supersonic strategic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles, enabling it to carry out precise land-attack missions.
In his speech at the ceremony, Kim was quoted as saying the destroyer would enhance the strength needed to "thoroughly defend" North Korea's maritime sovereignty and serve as a crucial step toward achieving advanced maritime power, according to the report.
"The most reliable means to proactively and safely manage the military threats on the Korean Peninsula, including nuclear threats, and to restrain and block any attempt by hostile overseas forces to reinforce their military presence on the peninsula, is to possess pelagic operational capabilities," Kim said.
