North Korean leader attends navigation test of key naval destroyer

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has witnessed the navigation test of a naval destroyer amid a call for strengthening the navy's combat capabilities and nuclear deterrent, state media reported on Saturday.

Kim, accompanied by his daughter Ju-ae, boarded the Kang Kon destroyer on Thursday to assess its maneuvering and operational condition, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Kim said that building a powerful navy capable of reliably taking charge of a part of the nuclear war deterrent and striking the enemy "under the water or on the water" is the most important core task in the ruling party's five-year national defense development policy.

He expressed confidence that the navy's modernization targets under the five-year plan, including the development of "underwater secret weapons" and the construction of 10,000-ton destroyers, would be "surely carried out."

The North Korean leader ordered the Choe Hyon and Kang Kon destroyers to be commissioned "as soon as possible."

The 5,000-ton Kang Kon ship tipped over and sustained damage during its initial launch attempt in May last year, prompting Kim to condemn the accident as "absolute carelessness" and "irresponsibility."

The worship was subsequently moved from Chongjin to the Rajin shipyard, which has a dry dock, for repairs. It was officially relaunched in June 2025.

Pyongyang also launched the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer -- named after a late anti-Japanese fighter -- in April last year.