NORTH Korea commissioned its latest and largest-ever 5,000-tonne destroyer–the Choe Hyon on June 23 in a ceremony at Nampo shipyard attended by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un. As the titular vessel in its class of guided missile destroyers that would consist of four ships, the ship was confirmed by Kim to possess “the most perfect, complex operational and combat capability,” according to the KCNA news agency. “The combat capability of our Navy will grow to be admirable beyond imagination,” he was quoted as saying by the report.
Launched in late April 2025, the Choe Hyon underwent a series of sea trials and weapons tests, some in the presence of Kim. It will be commissioned into the West Sea Fleet of the Korean People’s Navy (KPAN) to perform the “honourable mission” of defending the West Sea and deterring war. The warship takes after the name of an anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter and close aide to late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung. Furthermore, Choe was also the father of Choe Ryong-hae, former chairman of the standing committee of the North’s parliament.
Kim also stated plans for a buildup of naval power, calling for the construction of two Choe Hyon-class or larger surface combatants each year, including 10,000-ton-class cruisers, under the country’s five-year defence development plan in addition to building escort ships and special-purpose vessels, as well as the development and production of underwater weapons systems.”Following the Choe Hyon, we will soon commission the destroyer Kang Kon for operations. After that, we will launch 10,000-ton strategic warships one after another.” The Kang Kon is the second vessel in the class which suffered a botched launch last May, an incident which left the ship partially submerged on its side and capsized.
In April, two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles were fired from the Choe Hyon to check the warship’s integrated weapons command system, train crews in missile-launch procedures and verify the accuracy and anti-jamming performance of upgraded navigation systems, KCNA said. The cruise missiles reportedly flew for about 7,869 to 7,920 seconds and the anti-ship missiles for about 1,960 to 1,973 seconds over water before striking their targets in what was described as ultra-precision accuracy.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:KCNA)
