Kim Jong Un Visits North Korean Missile Destroyer

North Korean state media has released photos of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un touring one of the country’s new destroyers.

Newsweek contacted the North Korean Embassy in Beijing for comment via email outside office hours.

Why It Matters

Pyongyang continues to tout its military advances, including its United Nations-sanctioned nuclear weapons program and growing ballistic missile arsenal. The regime says these capabilities are essential to counter what it describes as provocations from the United States and its treaty allies, South Korea and Japan, which have stepped up military cooperation citing threats from Kim’s regime.

North Korea’s military modernization ambitions extend to the modest Korean People’s Navy, which remains far inferior to that of South Korea and largely composed of aging warships and fast attack vessels. The force unveiled its most advanced warship, its first-ever destroyer, the Choe Hyon, in April.

What To Know

The Choe Hyon has resurfaced, with Kim touring the 465-foot, 5,000-ton warship during the country’s third annual Defense Development 2025 exhibition, according to photos released on Monday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the first-in-its-class Choe Hyon missile destroyer on October 5.

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Kim, accompanied by senior officials on his tour of the vessel, hailed it as “a great proof of the validity and vitality of the WPK’s line of self-defense,” KCNA’s English-language report said.

The agency also offered the first public glimpse inside the vessel, showing Kim inspecting crew quarters, the bridge and the combat command center, which is equipped with multifunction consoles.

Naval News noted in an analysis that several modifications had been made to the ship since April, particularly to its sensor suite and weapon systems.

The ship’s vertical launch systems (VLS) have been reconfigured, the outlet reported, with the forward launcher—previously fitted with 32 small-diameter missile cells—now replaced by one identical to the aft launcher, for a total of 24 larger cells. At least eight 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine guns on pedestals have also been added.

The commissioning of the Choe Hyon was followed just a month later by the botched launch of the country’s second destroyer, an embarrassing incident that caused damage to the vessel. State media reported that Kim ordered the arrest of several officials involved.

What People Are Saying

Naval News reported: “The fact that all weapons and related sensor systems of the destroyer were tested off Nampo on April 28–29 makes their replacement only a few months later even more curious from an operational standpoint. Furthermore, it raises questions about whether the ship’s armament, particularly the VLS, is designed for modular replacement, or if the earlier setup was tested and subsequently replaced with a more advanced version.”

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un said in a speech during the launch ceremony for the second destroyer: “Possessing operations capability on the oceans and exercising naval power there is our indispensable option for defending our national sovereignty and security interests. It is not long before the enemy forces themselves will experience how offending and unpleasant it is to have to watch their rival’s warships cruising on the fringes of their territorial waters.”