North Korea has commissioned a new destroyer — Bloomberg
North Korea has officially commissioned the new multi-purpose destroyer “Chwe Hyun” and confirmed its intentions to expand its strategic naval forces.
A formal ceremony to commission the ship into the country’s navy took place in the port of Nampo, attended by the North Korean leader.
North Korean authorities stated that this step marks the beginning of a large-scale rearmament of the fleet and its equipping with nuclear weapons.
During his speech at the ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated that the new destroyer possesses “the most advanced operational and combat capabilities.”
According to him, the program to equip the navy with nuclear weapons is being implemented in accordance with the approved plan.
The head of state also emphasized that the era when the navy performed exclusively coastal defense functions is now definitively a thing of the past.
Kim Jong-un pledged to continue modernizing the navy and building larger warships to strengthen the country’s defenses.
He said that over the next five years, North Korea plans to commission two new surface ships into the Navy each year, which will be larger than the “Chwe Hyun”-class destroyer.
This will significantly boost the country’s military capabilities in confronting potential adversaries at sea.
The official commissioning of the new ship took place following April’s tests of strategic cruise and anti-ship missiles, which were launched from the destroyer.
The day before, Kim Jong Un also approved the construction of new naval bases to support the country’s growing fleet.
The new infrastructure is designed to accommodate large combat vessels that will be built in the near future.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
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