Kim Jong-un is hoping to further beef up his military might with the contraction of a new warship which is believed to be nearly double the size of its current largest vessel when it is finished
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un unveiled the country’s largest-ever warship equipped with a cruise missile system.
The vessel believed to be similar to Russia’s Admiral Gregorovich frigate is hoped to give a significant boost to North Korea’s naval power. North Korean state media, which pumps of propaganda on behalf of the dictator, shows the destroyer being constructed at a naval facility.
Images of the unfinished warship show it could be as large as 330ft complete with a beam approximately 50ft wide. The destroyer is believed to be about 3,600 tonnes -making it nearly twice as heavy as North Korea’s current largest warship at 1,360-tonne frigate.
Closeup photos show empty spaces on the vessel that is expected to eventually feature vertical launch missile systems. The launchers would be capable of firing guided cruise missiles alongside a mounted naval gun, The Sun reported.
Experts believe the warship is being built at the Nampho Dockyard on the country’s west coast. Kim Jong-un was seen at the facility inspecting the construction.
But it could take upward of 10 years for the North Korean military to complete building of the vessel. Kim is believed to have visited Russian naval bases on Russia’s eastern port of Vladivostok in September, 2023.
Joseph Dempsey, an International Institute for Strategic Studies analyst, told the South Korean-based NK News: “The naval warship is likely a destroyer and the largest warship ever contructed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“Weapons-wise, the large aperture immediately forward of the bridge would imply [plans to install a] possible vertical launching system [for missiles].”
Kim is flexing his military muscles having recently sent thousands of North Korean troops to take part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The army is supporting Russian troops as they aim to take Kursk, which Ukraine seized in August.
North Korean troops have taken smaller targets as Russian soldiers aim to advance deeper into Ukraine before Donald Trump returns to the US presidency on January 20. Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the conflict, although he has not shared any specifics on how he aims to achieve this.
Critics believe he will freeze borders between Russia and Ukraine where they are at the time of negotiation, ensuring Vladimir Putin is rewarded for his warmongering. Defenders of Trump believe the US should not focus on European conflict when it has multiple issues at home that are affecting Americans.
