Web Desk(National Times)- North Korea plans to build a 10,000-ton destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons, state media said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, reporting on a Thursday naval test supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, said he ordered the navy to deploy the destroyer Kang Kon and another 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The newspaper did not give further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the first time North Korea has mentioned a plan to build a 10,000-ton destroyer, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at South Korea\u2019s Institute for National Unification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kim may be seeking to showcase the country\u2019s military capabilities ahead of Xi\u2019s visit on Monday and Tuesday, Hong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The North Korean leader said Pyongyang must enhance its naval capabilities to deter a nuclear war, while calling for powerful military capabilities across land, sea and air, the newspaper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xi is making his first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the visit was announced, Kim on Thursday called for an \u201cexponential\u201d expansion of North Korea\u2019s atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During Kim\u2019s ship inspection, he was joined by his daughter, believed to be a teenager named Ju Ae, a photo published by the newspaper showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea said in May 2025 that a 5,000-ton destroyer had partially capsized during a launching ceremony in Chongjin port. Kim, who was overseeing the ceremony, condemned the accident and called it a \u201ccriminal act\u201d that could not be tolerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the ship was repaired at Rajin port, a second launching ceremony was held the next month, when the vessel was named the Kang Kon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web Desk(National Times)- North Korea plans to build a 10,000-ton destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons, state media said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, reporting on a Thursday naval test supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, said he ordered the navy to deploy the destroyer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n