North Korea to build new warship as Kim brushes off humiliating launch flop

AFP and Global Watch | 2025-08-11

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is pushing ahead with plans to build a third 5,000-ton warship, despite a humiliating public failure that left one of his flagship destroyers visibly damaged during its launch -- an incident he condemned as a "criminal act."

North Korea's state-run media reported on July 22 that workers at the Nampho Shipyard pledged to deliver another Choe Hyon-class destroyer by October 10, 2026, the anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party.

The announcement comes on the heels of a botched launch in May that exposed major cracks in Kim's naval modernization drive.

During that launch in the eastern port of Chongjin, the destroyer Kang Kon sustained severe damage in a side-launch gone wrong -- an outdated method that South Korea no longer uses.

The mishap crushed part of the ship's bottom and left it listing in the water, an embarrassing scene witnessed by Kim himself. He lashed out at the failure as "absolute carelessness," calling it "irresponsible" and a criminal breach of duty. He promised punishment for those responsible at an upcoming Party meeting.

The Kang Kon was reportedly repaired and refloated in June, but the incident marked a clear propaganda and military setback for Pyongyang.

The destroyer, believed to be another ship of the Choe Hyon class first revealed in April, had been heavily promoted by Kim as a symbol of advanced naval power, allegedly armed with "the most powerful weapons" and possibly capable of carrying nuclear-capable short-range missiles -- though that remains unproven.

South Korean officials believe Russia may be aiding North Korea's warship development, potentially in exchange for troops to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. That suspicion, if true, would underscore growing military entanglements between two isolated, sanctions-hit regimes.

Extreme militarization

Kim's naval ambitions stand in stark contrast to domestic instability and operational failures.

A day after the destroyer's launch flop, North Korea fired cruise missiles into the East Sea -- a likely attempt to project strength amid spiraling tensions.

Despite these setbacks, Kim continues to push for greater military expansion.

Earlier this year he toured a nuclear submarine development site and has championed investment in both surface and underwater capabilities.

Pyongyang has also claimed to be developing underwater nuclear drones capable of triggering a "radioactive tsunami" -- a claim widely doubted by analysts.

Kim's push for extreme militarization comes at the expense of the country's civilian basic needs, such as health care and education.

While Pyongyang invests heavily in weapons, nearly 46% of North Korea's population -- about 11.8 million people -- suffer from chronic undernourishment, according to a United Nations (UN) report examining data from 2020 to 2022.

Pyongyang's outsized military budget is starving the population of essential resources, Elizabeth Salmon, the UN special rapporteur on North Korean human rights, warned earlier this year.

"The government is not adequately investing in the enjoyment of human rights of its people," she said in a February 5 report, pointing to shortages of medicine and underfunded schools.