According to the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the launching ceremony of the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon-class guided-missile destroyer of North Korea was held at the Nampho Shipyard on April 25, local time. Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, attended the launching ceremony.
Kim Jong Un said in his speech that the newly built destroyer will be delivered to the navy and put into use early next year. North Korea will continue to build destroyers and corvettes and frigates with stronger combat capabilities as soon as possible next year.
The overall design of the vessels has entered the final stage of research. The launching ceremony of the new destroyer will become a sign of the strengthening of the North Korean navy, and the second sign will be the construction of nuclear-powered submarines.
Cho Chun Ryong, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, said in a speech at the ceremony that the completion of the modernized destroyer in just over 400 days was a milestone progress on the road to strengthening the navy’s power.