Leader Kim Jong Un says vessel will form part of Pyongyang’s nuclear response system, strengthen naval forces.
Published On 7 Sep 2026
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the commissioning of a warship he said could deliver “annihilating retaliatory strikes on an enemy”, citing “constant threats”, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The Kang Kon, named after the North Korean military leader who was killed in action during the Korean War, was formally deployed at a ceremony at the eastern Wonsan Port in Kangwon Province on Sunday.
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In his address, Kim said the warship “represents the self-respect and will” of North Korea to defend its rights and interests, KCNA reported.
“The time has come for us to exercise our sovereignty at sea and under water,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
He said that “dangerous shadows must be erased” and that North Korea was under constant threat in the “sea east of the Korean Peninsula and nearby waters”, KCNA reported.
KCNA did not specify what weapons systems might be deployed on the Kang Kon, but said it has the same weapons systems as the 5,000-tonne warship Choe Hyon launched in June.
A previous KCNA report said Choe Hyon-class destroyers can carry a range of weapons, including missiles that analysts say are capable of carrying a nuclear payload.
Sunday marks the third launch of the Kang Kon; the destroyer partially capsized during the first commissioning in May 2025 before it was repaired and relaunched the following month. It underwent further repairs and sea trials before completing weapons testing in July this year.
Kim said he would demonstrate another stage of North Korea’s naval buildup in eight months, KCNA said, without giving details.
North Korea has accelerated efforts to modernise its navy as Kim pursues a broader expansion of the country’s nuclear-capable forces.
He also said the construction of naval bases on North Korea’s east coast was under way and that the country would create new naval units and build different classes of warships.
Pyongyang, which calls itself an “irreversible” nuclear state, frames the build-up as deterrence against Washington and Seoul. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, and Kim has accused the allies of driving the region “to the brink of a nuclear war”.
