And this may be just the start for Kim, who will soon also commission the Kang Kon warship that capsized during launch last May.
North Korea will also launch 10,000-ton strategic warships “one after another,” Kim said, with at least two surface ships planned every year.
“We are now switching over to the stage of building various surface and underwater combat systems and deploying them offshore and in the oceans without feeling any restrictions,” Kim said.
However, Kim’s naval ambitions still face considerable challenges.
Launching warships is one thing, but their operational capability remains an open question.
Hong said that “naval infrastructure, maintenance capacity, crew training, and the ability to conduct integrated operations” will continue to pose challenges for Pyongyang’s navy.
Kim also claimed that his navy can deploy warships to any desired waters. This boast was intended to “demonstrate the possibility of extending naval operations into the West Sea, broader Northeast Asia, and even distant waters,” said Yang Moo-jin, a distinguished professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Put together with the construction of large-scale naval bases, North Korea appears “intent on expanding its ability to project nuclear capabilities at sea,” Yang said.
Beyond the actual operational capability of these warships, there’s also a lot to be won at home for Kim.
Promoting the idea that a “self-sufficient defense industrial production system has been fully established” despite international sanctions could strengthen “internal unity and cohesion,” Yang said.
