North Korea should build two warships a year in next five years, Kim says
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- Kim Jong Un directed North Korea to build two warships as large as the 5,000-metric-ton Choe Hyon vessel every year for the next five years, announced at the Choe Hyon's commissioning ceremony at Nampho port on June 23, 2026.
- The Choe Hyon destroyer successfully completed military operational tests over the past 14 months, according to state media KCNA.
- North Korea plans to deploy another 5,000-ton destroyer named Kang Kon soon, along with 10,000-ton strategic warships, per Kim.
- Kang Kon was repaired last year after partially capsizing during its launch ceremony, KCNA reported.
- Kim called the North Korean Navy the weakest part of its military forces, said its capabilities would become "something incredible beyond imagination," and described building modernised naval bases as a "desperate and essential task."
- Officials of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee discussed plans to build new naval bases at a June 22, 2026 meeting, Kim said.
- Kim said the Navy's nuclearisation is "advancing along its own course," contributing to North Korea's nuclear deterrence, without elaborating on a planned shift in the navy's status, role, and scope of operations.
Why it matters: North Korea committing to ten 5,000-ton warships over five years — plus eventual 10,000-ton strategic vessels — marks a rapid naval buildout for a branch Kim himself just called the military's weakest link. Paired with the navy's stated nuclearisation, this expands Pyongyang's deterrence posture beyond its traditional land-based missile and artillery footprint along the peninsula.
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