Kim Puts New Destroyer in Nuclear Response System
Kim Puts New Destroyer in Nuclear Response System
The News
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un commissioned a new destroyer on Sunday and said it will form part of the country's state nuclear response system, state media KCNA reported.
The 5,000-ton-class warship, the Kang Kon, entered service at a ceremony at Wonsan Port on North Korea's east coast. Kim said the ship could deliver "annihilating retaliatory strikes on an enemy."
KCNA did not say whether the vessel will carry nuclear weapons.
What KCNA Said About the Ship
State media said the Kang Kon has the same weapons systems as the Choe Hyon, the first warship of its class, which was commissioned on the west coast about three months earlier. A previous KCNA report said Choe Hyon-class destroyers can carry a range of weapons, including missiles that analysts say are capable of carrying a nuclear payload.
The ship is named for Kang Kon, a North Korean military leader killed in action during the Korean War.
Timeline
The destroyer partially capsizes during its first commissioning attempt, according to Al Jazeera.
The damaged ship is repaired and relaunched the following month.
The Choe Hyon, the first 5,000-tonne warship of the class, is commissioned, per Al Jazeera. Reuters reported the Choe Hyon entered service on the west coast about three months before the Kang Kon.
The ship completes weapons testing after further repairs and sea trials.
Kim attends the commissioning of the Kang Kon at Wonsan Port in Kangwon Province and declares it part of the nuclear response system.
Reactions
Kim framed the deployment as a signal to North Korea's adversaries, saying the ship's arrival in the sea east of the Korean Peninsula was a clear message. "The time has come for us to exercise our sovereignty at sea and under water," he said, according to KCNA.
He said the warship "represents the self-respect and will" of North Korea to defend its rights and interests, and that "dangerous shadows must be erased" in waters east of the peninsula, where he said the country is under constant threat.
Kim said North Korea's naval nuclear armaments were advancing and that the country would keep expanding what he called its most powerful strategic assets in key waters.
What's Next
Kim said he would demonstrate another stage of North Korea's naval buildup in eight months, KCNA reported, without giving details.
He also said construction of naval bases on the east coast is under way, and that North Korea will create new naval units and build additional classes of warships.
More
North Korea has accelerated efforts to modernize its navy as Kim pursues a broader expansion of the country's nuclear-capable forces.
Pyongyang, which calls itself an "irreversible" nuclear state, frames the buildup as deterrence against Washington and Seoul. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, and Kim has accused the two allies of driving the region "to the brink of a nuclear war."
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