PYONGYANG, Apr 27 (NNN-KCNA) – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), unveiled a new-generation destroyer, at the Nampho Dockyard on Friday, as its top leader lauded the launching of the advanced warship as a major step, to modernisation for the country’s naval forces, state media said, yesterday.
The new-type multipurpose destroyer, which has a displacement of 5,000 tonnes and is equipped with “the most powerful weapons,” is the first in a new class called “Choe Hyon,” named after a late military activist and veteran of the DPRK armed forces.
At the launching, Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, praised the “Choe Hyon” destroyer as being able to execute multi-functional maritime combat missions, saying, the destroyer has defence capabilities against aircraft, warships, submarines and ballistic missiles, and boasts weapon systems with maximised land strike capabilities, like supersonic strategic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles.
Stressing the DPRK naval forces should have a reach to open seas, instead of being confined to territorial waters, as an imperative to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and national interests, Kim called the launching of the new destroyer “the first real step” towards transformation and upgrading for the service, and the first step towards building a strong navy, only to be followed by the second step, a development project of nuclear-powered submarines.
The DPRK leader announced, the newly-launched destroyer will be delivered to the navy early next year, after necessary procedures, including performance tests, combat capabilities assessment and comprehensive equipment operation tests, it added.
He said, the country will build more “Choe Hyon” class destroyers next year, adding, it also has the ambition to expedite the development of other types of cruisers and destroyers, as the relevant plan has entered its final phase of discussing the overall designs for future warships.– NNN-KCNA
