Kim of North Korea reveals blueprint for fleet of 10,000-ton battleships, atomic-powered naval force

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This picture taken on June 23, 2026 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 24, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) salutes the new-type multi-mission destroyer Choe Hyon following its commissioning ceremony at Nampo port in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) / South Korea OUT / —EDITORS NOTE— RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. /

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country was “equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons,” state media reported Wednesday, as he also unveiled plans to build 10,000-ton warships.

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The remarks came at the commissioning of the Choe Hyon — one of two 5,000-ton class warships the nuclear-armed state launched last year — in the port city of Nampo on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

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“The programme of equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly,” Kim reportedly told the ceremony.

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“This is a strategic course of crucial importance as it will make it possible to keep the nuclear force of our state ready for multifaceted and efficient operation,” he said.

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North Korea has previously said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the “most powerful weapons”, and Kim has made multiple inspections of vessels in its class this year, including overseeing a cruise missile test from the Choe Hyon in April.

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“Following the Choe Hyon, we will soon commission destroyer Kang Kon for operations. After that we will launch 10,000-ton strategic warships one after another,” Kim said in his speech.

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Under his scheme, the North should “build every year two surface ships, whose class is higher than the Choe Hyon, including 10,000-ton cruiser”, he added.

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At a three-day party plenary meeting that wrapped up on Monday, Kim vowed to beef up defence capabilities, citing military modernisation efforts by South Korea and the United States as pushing the region “to the brink of a nuclear war”.

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Pyongyang has repeatedly 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.

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The North is under multiple sets of sanctions over its nuclear programme, and the two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

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