North Korea’s Kim oversees cruise missile tests from new naval destroyer

Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of sea-to-surface ‘strategic cruise missiles’ from country’s new naval destroyer.Published On 5 Mar 2026North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of “strategic cruise missiles” from a new 5,000-tonne naval destroyer before the vessel’s official commissioning, according to state media.Kim supervised the launch of sea-to-surface missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon on Wednesday, assessing the test as a “core” element of the new warship’s capabilities, which he described as a “new symbol of sea defence” for his country.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US Senator helps police drag anti-war protester from meetinglist 2 of 4US gov’t committee subpoenas Attorney General Pam Bondi over Epstein fileslist 3 of 4Senate Republicans block war powers resolution on Iranlist 4 of 4Demonstrators across Iran condemn US-Israeli warend of listCalling for the production of more warships of a similar class or better, Kim said his navy’s adoption of nuclear weapons was making progress.“Our Navy’s forces for attacking from under and above water will grow rapidly. The arming of the Navy with nuclear weapons is making satisfactory progress,” Kim said at the Nampo Shipyard in the west of the country, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).“All these successes constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century,” he said.South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency noted that North Korea uses references to “strategic” weapons to indicate they could have nuclear capabilities.According to KCNA, over a two-day visit to the shipyard, spanning Tuesday and Wednesday, Kim inspected the Choe Hyon, the lead vessel in a new series of 5,000-tonne “Choe Hyon-class” destroyers currently under construction in North Korea.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees a missile test launch conducted by the Choe Hyon naval destroyer during his visit to inspect the vessel at the Nampo Shipyard, in North Korea, on March 4, 2026 [KCNA via Reuters]‘Wage a more active and persistent struggle’In May 2025, North Korea’s ambitious naval modernisation programme suffered a major setback when a second Choe Hyon-class destroyer capsized during a botched side-launch ceremony at Chongjin Shipyard, an incident witnessed by the Korean leader.