SEOUL: North Korea has commissioned its second 5,000-ton destroyer, significantly expanding its naval capabilities as the United States, South Korea and Japan begin a new round of joint military exercises.
Leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter, attended the commissioning ceremony for the Kang Kon at the eastern port of Wonsan. The vessel joins the Choe Hyon as the largest and most advanced warships operated by North Korea.
The destroyers are designed to carry a range of conventional weapons and missiles potentially capable of delivering nuclear warheads, reflecting Pyongyang’s effort to extend its nuclear deterrent beyond land-based forces.
Kim said the new vessels would increase the strategic pressure faced by North Korea’s adversaries and indicated that another significant naval development could be revealed within eight months.
The commissioning coincides with the start of the five-day Freedom Edge exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan. The drills involve maritime, aerial and missile-defence training intended to strengthen cooperation among the three countries.
Pyongyang has repeatedly condemned such exercises as preparations for war, while Washington, Seoul and Tokyo maintain that the drills are defensive.
North Korea’s expanding naval programme represents a significant element of Kim’s wider military modernisation campaign, which has included increasingly sophisticated ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons development and efforts to build a nuclear-powered submarine.