Kim Jong-un is both the naval commander and the fleet owner

The missile ship "Choi Hyun" is ready to chase U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in all the world's seas

Photo: Kim Jong-un inspects the "Choi Hyun" destroyer

Let us first imagine a rather impressive scene: In the port city of Namp'o on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, an entirely new destroyer is moored, its hull gleaming brand-new, with sharp lines and imposing superstructure on the deck.

In the bridge of the captain, a leader clad in a jacket, whose figure is well known to the world, stands; the vertical launching system on the deck fires cruise missiles, leaving long trails in the March clouds over the Yellow Sea.

This is not a war fantasy from a literary work, nor a scene from a propaganda film, but a harsh reality — it indicates that North Korea is not content to be just a "isolated country" with a primitive navy.

For this reason, on March 4, 2026, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un personally boarded the new destroyer **"Choi Hyun"**, sending a clear message to the world: North Korea has the capability to build modern warships that would trouble its adversarial neighbors.

Slogans are slogans, data are data. What level is the "Choi Hyun" actually at? First, its displacement reaches 5,000 tons. For comparison, the Russian 11356 "Storm" class multi-purpose frigate has a full load displacement of about 4,000 tons.

By this criterion alone, North Korea is approaching the level of the U.S. fourth-generation Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, although there are still obvious differences in the equipment aboard the ship.

The key point is: Previously considered to have a severely lagging shipbuilding industry, North Korea can now independently build ocean-going warships, whose size is by no means comparable to coastal patrol boats. The ship is 144 meters long and 22 meters wide, making it a truly large combat platform with a comprehensive weapon configuration.

Even at a glance, the most eye-catching feature is the radar system — four large active phased array radar antennas.

Simply put, this system allows the ship to have a 360-degree full view of the surface and air situation, which is a standard technology in modern destroyers of countries such as China, the United States, and Japan, and North Korea has now mastered it.

Another major feature is the inclined stealth design of the superstructure on the ship's hull, not just for a sci-fi appearance, but to reduce the radar cross-section, i.e., the stealth technology that the United States is proud of.

Looking at the core — the weapon system. Under Kim Jong-un's watch, the ship fired a ship-launched strategic cruise missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead.

According to Yonhap News Agency and South Korean military experts, the range of such missiles can reach 1,000 kilometers or more.

Photos released by KCNA show that the ship launched at least four missiles, not a single shot for show, but a salvo demonstration simulating a saturation strike in actual combat. But this is far from the ship's entire combat power.

In the first phase of testing, the ship also tested supersonic cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and used a 127 mm main gun for firing. The appearance of this main gun is highly similar to the U.S. MK-45 Mod4 type naval gun.

Military analysis publication "Military Zone" reported that this new North Korean destroyer is equipped with at least five different types of vertical launch systems, with between 74-82 vertical launch units, covering short-range air defense missiles, long-range cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and a rich variety of ammunition types.

The close-in defense system includes a close-in weapon system resembling the Russian "Korvet-M," a 30 mm 6-barrel rapid-fire cannon (similar to the Soviet AK-630), and 533 mm torpedo tubes. The entire ship is densely armed, like a chocolate cake filled with raisins.

Returning to the opening scene: Kim Jong-un was not only observing the launch, but also personally going to sea to test the maneuverability and navigation performance of the "Choi Hyun" and immediately issued a clear task:

Over the next five years, North Korea will build two destroyers or higher-level vessels per year.

North Korea's shipbuilding is not without obstacles: When the second ship of the same model, "Gang Kun," was launched, there were cracks in the hull. After Kim Jong-un took responsibility, the ship was quickly repaired, and the third ship is currently under construction.

Pyongyang also made a powerful statement: The progress of the nuclear force replacement in the navy meets the requirements. This sentence is worth interpreting:

Putting nuclear warheads on land-based ballistic missiles is one thing, but mass-producing miniaturized nuclear warheads that can reliably operate in the turbulent, high-salt, high-humidity marine environment is a completely different technological step.

Once successful, the "Choi Hyun" class destroyers will become true sea-based nuclear carriers, causing long-term unease not only to neighboring countries but also to global "hegemonic countries."

This test launch coincided with the acute tension in the Middle East, and Kim Jong-un obviously intended to reiterate North Korea's weight in modern geopolitics. The missile flying toward the disputed Yellow Sea boundary between North Korea and South Korea is no coincidence.

With the commissioning of the "Choi Hyun," the North Korean Navy will welcome its strongest surface warship in history.

If the construction plan of two ships per year is implemented, by 2030, North Korea will have a fairly large ocean-going navy, which not only can seriously threaten global maritime traffic routes, but can also project its power to distant seas far from North Korea's territorial waters.

Certainly, North Korea still needs to solve a series of problems such as resources, system reliability, and personnel training, but the most important fact has already been clearly established:

North Korea has officially spoken out as a maritime power, and the world must take it seriously.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7616254780591997481/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.