North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the construction of two new 5,000-tonne warships every year over the next five years, signalling one of the country’s most ambitious naval expansion plans to date.

Kim made the announcement during a commissioning ceremony for the newly deployed destroyer Choe Hyon at Nampho port, according to state media KCNA. The vessel completed 14 months of operational testing before entering service.

The Choe Hyon is among North Korea’s largest and most advanced surface combatants, part of a broader effort by Pyongyang to modernise what Kim has previously described as the weakest branch of its military.

North Korea has traditionally relied on a largely ageing coastal fleet of submarines and smaller patrol vessels, with analysts long viewing its navy as limited in blue-water capability.

Reports from earlier in June say that Pyongyang also plans to build a 10,000-tonne destroyer, the largest warship ever publicly acknowledged by North Korea, as part of a wider naval overhaul.

Missile tests and nuclear ambitions

In April, North Korea tested strategic cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles from the Choe Hyon, part of operational trials that analysts said demonstrated an effort to integrate nuclear-capable strike systems into its naval fleet.

Kim said on Tuesday (23 June) that the navy’s “nuclearisation” was advancing and would strengthen the country’s deterrence posture.

Military analysts in South Korea and the United States have said the expansion could increase North Korea’s ability to project force beyond the Korean Peninsula, even as questions remain over the reliability and combat readiness of its new warships.

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