North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced aggressive plans to integrate nuclear armaments into his country's naval forces while scaling up the production of massive combat vessels, AFP reported on Tuesday.
This strategic naval expansion comes despite a heavy web of global economic sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s prohibited atomic programs, which state leadership has consistently defended as an unyielding defensive shield against potential aggression from Washington and Seoul.
The declaration coincided with a Tuesday commissioning event at the western port city of Nampho for the Choe Hyon - one of a pair of 5,000-ton class warships debuted by the reclusive nation last year. Official state media released images of the leader addressing high-ranking dignitaries on deck and offering a formal salute as the warship departed.
During the presentation, Kim underscored the definitive trajectory of his maritime strategy.
“The program of equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly," Kim reportedly told the ceremony.
“This is a strategic course of crucial importance as it will make it possible to keep the nuclear force of our state ready for multifaceted and efficient operation," he added.
State authorities previously designated the Choe Hyon as possessing supreme combat weapon systems. The commander-in-chief has prioritized the vessel class through repeated inspections this year, notably monitoring a live cruise missile exercise launched from its deck in April.
Looking forward, the military blueprint outlines an even broader naval buildup.
“Following the Choe Hyon, we will soon commission destroyer Kang Kon for operations. After that we will launch 10,000-ton strategic warships one after another," Kim said in his speech.
Under his scheme, the North should “build every year two surface ships, whose class is higher than the Choe Hyon, including 10,000-ton cruiser", he added.
This latest naval rollout follows a pivotal ruling party convention where Kim promised rapid defense modernization. During those meetings, he castigated joint defense initiatives between the United States and South Korea, warning that their activities were dragging the peninsula closer to an atomic conflict.
In late March, Kim said Pyongyang's status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and expanding a "self-defensive nuclear deterrent" was essential to national security.
In January, Kim personally oversaw test‑flights of hypersonic missiles, using the launch to stress the need to further strengthen the country’s nuclear war deterrent.
The launch followed a series of recent weapons activities by North Korea, which had earlier conducted a long-range strategic cruise missile launching drill observed by Kim, while also releasing images suggesting progress on the regime’s first nuclear‑powered submarine.