North Korea has announced plans to build a third 5,000-tonne destroyer for its navy by October 2026, officials said. The announcement was made on Tuesday after North Korea commissioned its 5,000-tonne destroyer-class naval ship, the Choe Hyon, in April.
A second naval destroyer capsized at its launch ceremony in May. However, it was repaired and set afloat the following month.
The announcement came a week after the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, visited the country last week and called the relationship between the two countries friendly and ironclad.
The two countries have been working jointly to strengthen the military, trade, and energy sectors. Workers at the Nampho Shipyard attended a rally where they pledged to construct a new ship by the end of October 10, 2026. The anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
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The state-run media broadcaster KCNA reported that the head of the Shipyard urged workers to keep deadlines in mind while building the next destroyer for "the plan for building a powerful army" and "to firmly defend the inviolable maritime sovereignty and national interests.”
Earlier in June, Kim Jong Un said, "We must develop our naval power more comprehensively and rapidly so that the enemy cannot even think of carrying out aggressive actions in the waters around us." The latest announcement came amid the growing hostile posturing by South Korea’s new President Lee Jae Myung adopts a more dovish stance towards the north compared to his predecessor, Yoon Suk-Yeol.
According to South Korean intelligence, Russia is providing greater assistance to Pyongyang to build a strong North Korean military following recent US military strikes on Iran, which has long called the regime in both countries.
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