North Korea's Kim Jong Un visits naval destroyer, KCNA says
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Choe Hyon naval destroyer at a military exhibition in an undisclosed location on Oct 5, 2025, in this pictured released on Oct 6, 2025 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS)
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Choe Hyon naval destroyer at a military exhibition on Sunday (Oct 5), state media KCNA reported on Monday.
Kim said the navy should be prepared to "thoroughly deter or counter and punish the enemy's provocations", KCNA said. The annual Defence Development exhibition promotes North Korea's "remarkable development" of its modernised military, the media reported.
It is unclear when the ships will become operational, analysts said.
South Korea-based SI Analytics reported in September that satellite imagery showed North Korea finally installing engines in the Choe Hyon, and predicted it could conduct sea trials as soon as this month.
The United States is seeking to revive the US Navy with its allies, South Korea and Japan, amid rising geopolitical tensions with China.
South Korean shipbuilders, among the industry's leaders, are mulling an expansion in the US defence market, including investing in US shipyards.
In May, a Choe Hyon-class destroyer partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony Kim attended, which the leader called a "criminal act".
