Kim is building a nuclear-armed navy.
As Europe struggles to rearm, with the British Royal Navy scrapping plans for new destroyers for cheaper alternatives, the North Koreans continue to relentlessly display their beefed-up military capabilities.
Kim Jong Un personally supervised the tests for a nuclear-capable cruise missile and other weapons launched from his new 5,000-ton destroyer, the Kang Kon.
The warship was repaired after damages incurred during in a failed launch ceremony last year.
(The incident was widely mocked worldwide – but there the destroyer is, while Europeans still struggle to leave the drawing boards with their new military plans.)
🇰🇵 North Korea test-fires strategic cruise missile and other weapons from new 5,000-ton naval destroyer under leader Kim Jong Un’s supervision https://t.co/JMJa5FwmYr pic.twitter.com/BhxrWSgxoB
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) July 5, 2026
The New York Post reported:
“The official Korean Central News Agency said Friday’s event included test-firings of a strategic cruise missile and of the Kang Kon’s main gun and automatic cannons, as well as trials of its electronic warfare systems and assessments of its target-detection and information-processing capabilities.
After observing the tests from shore, Kim ordered officials to complete the destroyer’s trials and place the vessel in active duty within two months, the state news agency said.”
🚨🇰🇵 Kim Jong-un oversees strategic missile test from destroyer Kang Kon
DPRK leader Kim Jong-un oversaw combat system tests of the DPRK destroyer Kang Kon, including a strategic cruise missile launch, naval artillery, automatic machine guns and electronic warfare systems, KCNA… pic.twitter.com/3Bhe57m3Ee
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) July 5, 2026
“The tests came after North Korea in late June commissioned its first 5,000-ton destroyer, the Choe Hyon, a milestone Kim marked with a lavish ceremony where he declared that the nuclear armament of his navy was proceeding as planned.
After years of prioritizing ballistic missile development, Kim has increasingly turned his focus to naval capabilities, including the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine.”
North Korea has commissioned its largest warship to date, the 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon.
Kim Jong Un called it the start of a modern navy and said larger vessels are planned. pic.twitter.com/ok9BM0qDIZ
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 24, 2026
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