Kim Jong-un next to North Korea’s newest destroyer, the Choe Hyun, 30 April 2025. Photo by STR / AFP
After launching new destroyer, North Korea prepares to arm its navy with nuclear weapons – Kim Jong-un declares “time to strengthen maritime nuclear power”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced the need to accelerate the nuclear armament of the country’s naval forces. According to the state-run KCNA news agency, the dictator noted that “the time has come to intensify the development of naval nuclear weapons to protect the state and its sovereignty at sea from current and future threats”.
This statement came just a few days after North Korea launched a new multifunctional destroyer, the Choi Hyun. According to the analytical resource NK News, the ship may be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles.
Kim emphasised that “a powerful preemptive strike capability is the most convincing means of deterring war” and stressed that “there is no limit to the scale of such attacks”.
North Korea regularly justifies its nuclear programme as a defence against joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which Pyongyang considers aggressive.
The strengthening of the nuclear component of the DPRK Navy indicates the Kim regime’s intention not only to maintain the status of a nuclear power, but also to make the naval component the main element of strategic deterrence.
