Kim Jong Un says new North Korean destroyer will join nuclear response system
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the new destroyer Kang Kon will become part of the country’s state nuclear response system and will be able to deliver “devastating retaliatory strikes.” This was reported by Daily Maverick in a Reuters report citing North Korea’s state news agency KCNA.
Ceremony in Wonsan
The statement was made on Sunday at a ceremony commissioning the ship into the fleet in the eastern port city of Wonsan. According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un said that deploying the new vessel in the sea east of the Korean Peninsula was a clear signal to North Korea’s adversaries.
According to the agency, he also said that the time had come for the country to exercise its sovereignty at sea and underwater. Kim Jong Un added that North Korea would develop the navy’s nuclear armaments and expand its strategic capabilities in key waters.
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The second ship of this class
Kang Kon is the second 5,000-ton-class destroyer to be commissioned. The first was the Choe Hyon destroyer, which was commissioned on North Korea’s west coast about three months earlier.
KCNA did not specify which weapons systems could be installed on Kang Kon, but said that it has the same systems as Choe Hyon. In an earlier report, KCNA said that destroyers of this class could carry various missiles which analysts believe are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Kim Jong Un also announced the construction of naval bases on the country’s east coast, the creation of new naval units, and the building of ships of various classes. According to KCNA, he promised to demonstrate the next stage of fleet strengthening in eight months, without providing details.
