North Korea will equip its navy with nuclear weapons and build larger warships, leader Kim Jong Un said Wednesday according to state media, as Pyongyang continues its military expansion.
The hermetic nation is under multiple rounds of sanctions over a nuclear program its leaders have pledged to pursue as a key deterrent against the United States and South Korea.
Kim made the remarks on Tuesday during the commissioning of the Choe Hyon – one of two 5,000-ton class warships launched last year – in the port city of Nampho, according to the official. Korean Central News Agency reported.
“The program to equip the navy with nuclear weapons is unerringly following the planned course,” Kim was quoted as saying at the ceremony.
“This is a strategic move of crucial importance because it will keep our State’s nuclear force ready for a multifaceted and effective operation,” he said.
North Korea previously said the Choe Hyon was equipped with the “most powerful weapons,” and Kim oversaw a cruise missile test from the ship in April.
“After the Choe Hyon, we will soon commission the Kang Kon destroyer for operations. After that, we will launch 10,000-ton strategic warships one after another,” Kim said in a statement. KCNA report published in English.
He added that the North aims to “build two surface ships each year, the class of which is higher than that of Choe Hyon,” including a 10,000-ton cruiser.
A 10,000-ton warship, such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, of which the U.S. Navy has dozens, or South Korea’s fully loaded Sejong the Great, is typically between 150 and 170 meters (about 492 to 557 feet) long, about the size of one and a half football fields, and weighs up to several thousand cars.
The South Korean navy operates more than 10 ships over 5,000 tons, compared to two for the North Korean navy.
“The 10,000 ton mark will be symbolic for the North,” said Choi Gi-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University.
“A ship of this size will show Pyongyang’s determination not to fall further behind Seoul’s maritime power,” he said. AFP.
Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state since the failure of the 2019 summit between Kim and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Hanoi on the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief.
North Korea technically remains at war with the South because the conflict between its neighbors from 1950 to 1953 ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Deterrence
Photos published by KCNA showed Kim greeting the Choe Hyon flanked by senior officials and giving a speech aboard the newly commissioned ship.
Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, said the move was mainly aimed at sending a message to the United States, South Korea’s main security ally.
“The key point is that North Korea views these weapons as part of an effort to more effectively deter or prevent U.S. military intervention on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a conflict,” he said. AFP.
“If the North deployed ship-launched cruise missiles equipped with tactical nuclear warheads, it would significantly increase the burden on the South Korean and U.S. militaries and increase defense and deterrence costs,” he added.
The announcement comes days after Kim used a key ruling party meeting to pledge to accelerate military modernization, accusing South Korea and the United States of pushing the Korean Peninsula “to the brink of nuclear war.”
Washington is stationing around 28,500 troops in South Korea to strengthen Seoul’s defenses against military threats from Pyongyang.
