North Korea has commissioned a 5,000-ton destroyer, which leader Kim Jong Un touted as a symbol of the country's growing naval and nuclear capabilities, state media reported Wednesday. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated that Kim told a commissioning ceremony Tuesday at the western port of Nampo that warships like the Choe Hyon demonstrate that the nuclear armament of his navy is progressing as planned.
The Choe Hyon was formally placed into service with North Korea’s navy following the ceremony and is assigned to defend the country’s western coast. Since its unveiling in April 2025, Kim has presented the Choe Hyon as a significant step toward enhancing his military’s operational reach and preemptive strike capabilities. According to KCNA, the warship is equipped with various systems, including anti-aircraft and anti-ship weapons, as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.
South Korean officials and experts suggest the vessel likely received Russian assistance amidst deepening military ties between the two nations. However, some analysts have expressed doubts about its readiness for active service. North Korea has conducted several tests with the Choe Hyon in recent months, including launches of what it described as nuclear-capable cruise missiles from the vessel.
"It has clearly become a thing of the past when our navy existed as a force for defending the sea off our land," Kim stated in his speech at Tuesday's ceremony. "It is rising into a full-fledged service equipped with strategic means as the program of equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly."
Following years of ballistic missile development, Kim has recently focused on naval capabilities, including the ongoing construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. Naval advancements were also a key component of Kim's five-year military objectives outlined at the Workers’ Party congress in February, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of underwater launches.
Kim previously claimed after a missile test aboard the Choe Hyon in March that his efforts to arm his navy with nuclear weapons would "constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century." While state media did not provide further details, some analysts speculate that North Korea may be preparing to formally declare a maritime boundary that could overlap with waters controlled by rival South Korea.
Amidst escalating inter-Korean tensions, Kim has consistently stated his non-recognition of the Northern Limit Line. This maritime boundary in the western sea was drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. Command at the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953 and has been the site of several fatal skirmishes.
North Korea revealed a second destroyer of the same class as the Choe Hyon in May 2025. That vessel, named Kang Kon, was damaged during a missile launch attempt at the northern port of Chongjin, leading to a strong rebuke from Kim. The country later announced the ship was relaunched in June after repairs, though external experts have questioned its full operational status. Kim indicated during Tuesday's speech that the Kang Kon will also be entering service soon. North Korea also has separate plans to construct a larger, 10,000-ton destroyer.
Since the collapse of nuclear diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, Kim has accelerated the expansion of his nuclear arsenal and strengthened ties with Moscow and Beijing. While maintaining a firm stance toward South Korea, he has kept the possibility of renewed talks with Washington open, reiterating Pyongyang's demand that the United States remove denuclearization as a prerequisite for resuming negotiations.