North Korea has recently released the first detailed images of its new warship under construction, signaling a major step in its naval development. The vessel, expected to be the largest in the country’s Navy, features a missile launcher system and could redefine Pyongyang’s maritime capabilities.
Korean Central Television aired four photographs on December 29, showing Kim Jong Un inspecting the ship during at least two visits in 2024. The release was part of the regime’s end-of-year coverage.
While the photos lack specific dates, one image reveals an earlier stage of construction where the facility was camouflaged with netting.
Later images display a more permanent roof structure, which, according to NK Pro, an independent media outlet specializing in North Korean news, likely indicates the photo was taken before the roof was completed in October.
This marks the latest glimpse of the warship, previously seen in heavily cropped images released by state media in September and wide-angle shots from a defense exhibition in November. The earlier releases offered limited detail and focused primarily on the bow.
The new warship is likely being constructed at the Nampo Shipyard in South Pyongan Province, a facility Kim visited in February.
During that visit, he underscored the strategic importance of bolstering naval power and stressed the need to complete shipbuilding projects outlined by the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea within a five-year timeline.
Experts consider this new vessel a major advancement in North Korea’s naval development. Joseph Dempsey, a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, observed in October that the dockyard in Nampo includes a structure designed to conceal construction.
The warship under construction features a beam width of approximately 15 meters—substantially wider than the Amnok- and Tuman-class corvettes, which are about 77 meters long and are the largest warships North Korea has produced since the 1970s.
The new frigate is estimated to be over 100 meters long, with a displacement classification indicating its role as a principal surface combatant. North Korea has previously claimed its Amnok-class corvettes can launch nuclear-armed cruise missiles, potentially broadening its nuclear strike capabilities.
However, analysts caution that North Korea’s navy remains far from being able to challenge the capabilities of the United States or South Korea.
Capabilities Of North Korea’s New Warship
The unveiling of these new images marks a rare insight into the Hermit Kingdom’s evolving naval ambitions and its efforts to increase military strength amid ongoing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The vessel has drawn attention due to its design, which suggests the potential inclusion of advanced technologies such as fixed-panel radars integrated into the superstructure and a vertical launching system (VLS) capable of launching cruise or anti-aircraft guided missiles.
Although the VLS has not yet been installed, its inclusion seems likely, given the ship’s design and the common weapon configurations found on modern surface combatants.
In line with the Amnok-class corvette, North Korea has tried to reduce the ship’s radar cross-section (RCS), aiming for greater stealth. The ship’s superstructure features two key openings forward of the bridge: a smaller one at the bow, likely for a naval gun, and a larger opening in front of the superstructure, possibly intended for vertically launched missiles, either for defense or offense.
Additionally, the small openings in the superstructure suggest the possibility of installing phased-array radars, which could be used for surveillance and missile guidance.
Naval expert Dimitris Mitsopoulos observed that these features resemble the design of the unfinished Russian Project 20386 corvette (Derzky), an advanced variant of the Steregushchiy (pr. 20380) and Gremyashchiy (pr. 20385) classes.
The potential combination of VLS and phased-array radar strongly suggests that the ship is intended for air defense, fulfilling a long-standing gap in North Korea’s naval fleet for an anti-air picket ship.
If these systems are completed, North Korea will join a select group of navies with such advanced technologies in their fleets.
Until now, the only anti-aircraft missile system deployed on North Korean ships has been the Igla-S (SA-24) SAM, either as MANPADS or in an automated sextuple short-range SAM launcher, also seen on some ships in the Myanmar Navy.
In addition to this new warship, North Korea is also developing other surface combatants, including smaller anti-submarine warfare vessels and missile boats.
North Korea’s naval aspirations extend underwater as well, with evidence suggesting the country may be working on its first nuclear-powered submarine design, signaling its continued push to expand its naval capabilities.
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