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North Korea has commissioned the 5,000-ton Kang Kon destroyer into its East Sea Fleet as part of efforts to strengthen its navy with nuclear-capable vessels, state media reported Monday.
The commissioning ceremony was held Sunday in the eastern port city of Wonsan and attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim described the Kang Kon as “essentially an offensive destroyer” and said it forms part of “the state nuclear counteraction system.”
“The new-generation destroyer should deal a deadly retaliatory blow at the enemies, as it is a force involved in the state nuclear counteraction system,” Kim said.
He was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and daughter Ju-ae.
Kim said North Korea needs to develop its navy into “a nuclear armed force” to carry out maritime defense and war deterrence activities “more clearly.”
The Kang Kon was commissioned one day before the start of a joint military exercise involving the U.S., South Korea and Japan, which Pyongyang has long described as a “war rehearsal.”
The destroyer has now formally joined North Korea’s East Sea Fleet.
The Kang Kon entered service less than three months after North Korea commissioned its first 5,000-ton destroyer, the Choe Hyon, into the West Sea Fleet.
Earlier this year, Pyongyang unveiled plans to build two large warships exceeding 5,000 tons over the next five years, including vessels in the 10,000-ton class.
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