North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced plans to equip the country's navy with nuclear weapons and build larger warships, as Pyongyang continues its military expansion. State media reported that Kim made the remarks at the commissioning of the Choe Hyon, a 5,000-ton class warship, in the port city of Nampho on Tuesday.
Nuclear Navy and Larger Warships
Kim reportedly told the ceremony that the programme of equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly. He emphasized that this is a strategic course of crucial importance as it will make it possible to keep the nuclear force of the state ready for multifaceted and efficient operation.
Following the Choe Hyon, Kim said the destroyer Kang Kon would soon be commissioned for operations. He added that after that, North Korea would launch 10,000-ton strategic warships one after another. Under his scheme, the North should build every year two surface ships, whose class is higher than the Choe Hyon, including a 10,000-ton cruiser.
Military Expansion and Deterrence
North Korea is under multiple sets of sanctions over its nuclear programme, and leaders have repeatedly insisted they will not abandon it, portraying nuclear weapons as essential to deterrence against the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang has declared itself an 'irreversible' nuclear state since a 2019 summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief.
Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, said the move was primarily aimed at deterring the United States, South Korea's main security ally. He noted that North Korea sees these weapons as part of an effort to more effectively deter or impede US military intervention on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a conflict.
Regional Tensions and Military Presence
The announcement came after Kim used a key ruling party meeting to pledge faster military modernisation, accusing South Korea and the United States of pushing the Korean Peninsula 'to the brink of a nuclear war'. Washington stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help Seoul defend against military threats from Pyongyang.
