North Korean leader Kim Jong-un spent two consecutive days (March 3 and 4, 2026) inspecting the new destroyer Choe Hyon (5,000 tons) – the country’s largest warship to date – at the Nampo shipyard (on the West Coast). He personally supervised the test launch of strategic cruise missiles from the ship’s deck, praising it as a “new symbol of maritime defense capabilities” and declaring that North Korea’s nuclear navy is making “satisfactory progress.”

Kim ordered the construction of at least two destroyers of the same class or larger each year over the next five years, aiming to expand the country’s sea-based nuclear strike capabilities (both cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles). This is a significant step in Pyongyang’s naval nuclearization strategy.

Below are official pH๏τos from KCNA (actual pH๏τos, highest quality available):
1. Kim Jong-un inspects the command room and weapons systems on the Choe Hyon destroyer

(Kim wearing a black leather jacket, headphones, directly inspecting the control panel while the ship is in operation)

2. Panoramic view of the destroyer Choe Hyon (hull number 51) undergoing sea trials

(The ship powerfully cuts through the waves, the North Korean flag flies, aerial view)

3. Kim Jong-un directly observes the launch of a strategic cruise missile from the ship

(Kim stands on the shore watching the missile rise with smoke and flames, the Choe Hyon is in the distance)

4. Moment of the strategic cruise missile launch from the deck of the Choe Hyon

(Scene of extremely powerful fire, thick white smoke – pH๏τo released by KCNA)

5. Kim Jong-un and the inspection team at the Nampo shipyard, standing in front of the Choe Hyon ship

(Group pH๏τo, Kim pointing to command, the ship standing upright behind with the North Korean flag)