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Kim Jong Un oversees tests on new destroyer
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of a nuclear-capable cruise missile and other weapons aboard the repaired 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon, signaling a push to build a nuclear-armed navy.
- The tests included firing the strategic cruise missile, the ship’s main gun, automatic cannons, electronic warfare systems, and assessments of target-detection and information-processing capabilities.
- Kim ordered officials to complete the destroyer’s trials and commission it into active duty within two months, following its repair after damage during a failed launch ceremony last year.
- This event follows the commissioning of North Korea’s first 5,000-ton destroyer, Choe Hyon, in June, marking increased focus on naval capabilities, including nuclear-powered submarines and underwater-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- While the vessels likely involved Russian assistance, some experts question their operational effectiveness, and Kim has called for building two new 5,000-ton warships annually and a larger 10,000-ton destroyer over the next five years.
