North Korea’s new naval destroyer, which suffered a launch failure last May, is now seaworthy and testing its weapons systems, state media reported. State-run Korea Central Television on Sunday broadcast footage of the ship firing its main gun and autocannon, as well as several vertically launched missiles. The state media Korean Central News Agency reported
North Korea’s new naval destroyer, which suffered a launch failure last May, is now seaworthy and testing its weapons systems, state media reported.
State-run Korea Central Television on Sunday broadcast footage of the ship firing its main gun and autocannon, as well as several vertically launched missiles.
The state media Korean Central News Agency reported that these were “strategic” or essentially nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
The tests aboard the 5,000-ton warship, the Kang Kon, took place on Friday and were attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA reported.
The ship also tested electronic warfare, information processing and target detection systems, the outlet added.
The Kang Kon is the second ship of its class, following Pyongyang’s first 5,000-ton destroyer, the Choe Hyon, which entered service at the end of June.
The destroyers are a centerpiece of Kim’s ambition to bolster North Korea’s navy into a nuclear-capable maritime force that would complement its intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Kang Kon, however, got off to a rocky start in May 2025 when its launch failed because its stern slid down a ramp too soon, crushing part of its hull as it lost balance.
Satellite photographs from the time showed the ship capsized, lying on its side and partially listing. Calling the failure a “serious accident and a criminal act,” Kim detained several of the key workers responsible for the launch.
North Korean workers covered the Kang Kon with blue tarps after its failed launch. Maxar Technologies/Getty Images
The ship was relaunched a month later after repairs, and its weapons tests are a likely sign that it is one step closer to active service.
In state media reports on Sunday, Kim ordered his officials to prepare the Kang Kon for active service within two months.
Kim plans for Pyongyang to build two more Choe Hyon-class destroyers, which are now the largest in North Korea’s fleet, as well as a separate 10,000-ton warship.
In 2023, North Korea also launched the Hero Kim Kun Ok, a submarine designed to launch ballistic and cruise missiles. It was loosely based on the Soviet Romeo-class attack submarine of the 1950s.