SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has formally commissioned the country’s second naval destroyer while renewing calls for a stronger and more dependable nuclear deterrent, state media said Monday. The move came as the United States, South Korea and Japan carried out a three-way military exercise that Pyongyang has repeatedly condemned as a threat to its security.
The warship’s entry into service signals North Korea’s continued effort to raise pressure on Washington, even after it dismissed President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back a major joint military drill with South Korea as a gesture aimed at easing tensions with Kim. Analysts say Pyongyang is likely seeking broader concessions from the United States.
The destroyer Kang Kon was added to North Korea’s navy on Sunday during a commissioning ceremony in the eastern port city of Wonsan. Kim attended the event with his teenage daughter, whom South Korea’s intelligence agency has described as his probable successor. Images released by North Korean state media showed the girl, wearing a white dress and blazer, walking beside her father on a red carpet, inspecting the vessel and posing with sailors.
North Korean destroyers seen as its most advanced warships
The Kang Kon and the Choe Hyon, which entered service in June, are both 5,000-ton destroyers that North Korean state media says are capable of carrying a range of conventional and nuclear weapons. They are widely viewed as the largest and most sophisticated warships in North Korea’s fleet, with experts suggesting they were probably built with Russian support. In July, Pyongyang said it had test-fired nuclear-capable cruise missiles from the Kang Kon.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kim said the rapid addition of the two destroyers would unsettle North Korea’s adversaries, arguing that the navy’s nuclear armament allows Pyongyang to deploy its deterrent in a more varied and practical way.
“Concerns of the enemies will be surely deepened,” Kim said. “We must establish more clearly a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent, to put into practice the diverse and effective operation of our nuclear combat systems and further strengthen our military activities for maritime defense and war deterrence.”
After spending years heavily focused on ballistic missile programs, Kim has increasingly emphasized naval modernization. In his Sunday remarks, he acknowledged that until only a few years ago North Korea lacked warships suited to the navy’s mission. Outside specialists say the new destroyers’ weapons and radar systems could significantly improve Pyongyang’s offensive and defensive capabilities at sea.
Kim said North Korea is pursuing another “significant” naval advancement that would be unveiled in eight months. Many observers say the project could be related to Kim’s stated goal of acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine.
South Korea, US and Japan open trilateral drill
On Monday, the U.S., South Korea and Japan kicked off their five-day Freedom Edge exercise in the waters off South Korea’s southern Jeju island. South Korea’s military said the exercise is defensive in nature and meant to enhance a joint response capability against North Korean nuclear threats. It said the exercise involves key maritime and aerial military assets of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
Last week, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of more clearly expressing its confrontational posture against the North. It cited the Freedom Edge exercise and U.S. officials’ reported comments that the U.S. remains committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
On Aug. 21, the U.S. and South Korean militaries ended their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise six days earlier than originally planned, after Trump said he had ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the drill. Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with Kim, who views the drill as an invasion rehearsal.
But Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, shrugged off Trump’s outreach, saying just shortening the drill won’t change its “provocative, aggressive nature.” North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, apparently delivering on its previous threat to respond to the U.S.-South Korean drill.
Kim Jong Un has previously said he could return to talks if the U.S. drops its “hostile policy” against North Korea and respects what he calls North Korea’s status as a nuclear state.
Kim and Trump’s earlier diplomacy collapsed in 2019 due to disputes on how much economic benefits North Korea should get in return for a limited denuclearization step. Now with his advancing nuclear program and deepened ties with Russia and China, experts say Kim has greater leverage than before.
