Choe Hyon destroyer
The "Choe Hyon" destroyer was the first warship of a new generation in North Korea. This ship, unveiled by Kim Jong Un, represents a significant modernization effort for the North Korean navy. The Choe Hyon is described as a "new generation" warship, marking a departure from the aging Soviet-era vessels that previously dominated the Korean People's Navy. It is the first surface vessel in the Korean People's Navy to be equipped with a phased array radar and a Vertical launch system, with 44 small VLS, 20 medium VLS, and 8 large VLS.
The destroyer has 74 vertical launch tubes in total, with 44 in the bow and 30 at the stern, all employing a cold-launch system. Released imagery suggests 32 bow cells will carry anti-aircraft missiles, 12 will carry cruise or anti-ship missiles, and aft launchers will carry Hwasal-2 cruise missiles, North Korea's newest supersonic land-attack missile, and Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles. The ship has several launch points for the Kumsong-3 anti-ship, based on the Russian Kh-35.
According to Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Choe Hyon is the largest ship ever constructed in North Korea..
Reports of the Choe Hyon being under construction began surfacing in May 2024, when satellite images of Nampo Shipyard picked up new rows of pillars and mesh roofs being added in order to hide construction from satellite view. In October 2024, the mesh roof was replaced with proper roofs to shelter the ship while it w as being constructed. Kim was reportedly present when he visited the shipyard on at least two occasions to inspect the status of the construction. KCNA later showed more photos of the ship under construction in December 2024
The vessel was presented with fanfare and is seen as a key element in Kim's efforts to upgrade his navy and build a more formidable maritime force.
Kim attended the launch of the first "new multipurpose destroyer" equipped with "the most powerful weapons" on 25 April 2025."
During the ceremony to launch the Choe Hyon at the port of Nampo on the country's western coast, Kim said the ship's construction represented "a breakthrough" in North Korea's naval modernization.
"I feel infinitely honoured to proclaim the birth of the first warship of a new generation," Kim was quoted as saying. Kim hailed the vessel as "indispensable in building up our capability for stoutly defending our maritime frontier."
Images released by state media showed Kim, accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae, being enthusiastically welcomed by navy personnel in white uniforms in front of the new warship, with colourful confetti scattered across the ground.
Ju Ae, who is considered by many experts as Kim's likely successor, was also photographed whispering to her father, dressed in a formal black suit in front of the ship.
The first such destroyer, Choe Hyon, was built in just 400 days. 38 North, the leading U.S. think tank monitoring North Korea, said more work appeared to be necessary for the destroyer, citing commercial satellite imagery that showed tugboats being used to move the ship.
The lead ship was named after Choe Hyon, a North Korean general who served as a general in the Northeast Counter-Japanese United Army and later became the Minister of the People's Armed Forces of North Korea.
Choe Hyon served as Kim Il-Sung's minister of armed forces, and his name is well known among the military people in the North. Jeong-Un. Choe Ryong-Hae is Choe Hyon's son. In Korea, family succession is very important. Look at Korean companies. In the North, their government is a family business.
Choe Hyon, not Kim Il-Sung, was the father of the KPA, and he had a son named Choe Ryong-Hae. Thus, the KPA does not belong to Kim's family, and Kim Jeong-Un's influence limited in the military establishment.
The South Korean military said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian help -- possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Kyiv.
North Korean state media witnessed supersonic and strategic cruise missile, anti-aircraft missile, and electronic jamming projectile launches as well as fire from the ship's 127mm main naval gun.
Mark Soo noted the main gun is a locally produced 127mm naval cannon located ahead of the VLS array. It has optical and manual aiming with external ventilation. Close-range defense is provided by two AK-630 30mm cannons on either side and the aforementioned Pantsir-M CIWS located aft. Secondary armament comprises four quad-mounted Bulsae-4 anti-tank missile systems and assorted decoy launchers.
Soo reported that "Anti-submarine warfare is enabled by two sets of dual torpedo tubes and bow-mounted sonar. While no towed sonar array has been sighted or reported, onboard systems imply the possible addition of Soviet-era RPK missile systems, allowing the vessel to conduct long-range torpedo or nuclear depth charge attacks."
As for sensor and electronics, Soo reported. the Choe Hyon has a 360-degree phased-array radar, two Russian-style fire-control radars, an MR-36-series air and surface search radar, standard navigation and IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) systems, and electronic-warfare antennas. Precise guidance techniques for its missile systems are not apparent, but radar-integrated or active-seeker technologies are probable.
Soo further reported that the ship is powered by conventional diesel turbines, with bow thrusters as auxiliary units to help maneuver in harbor spaces. There is no specialized aviation hangar or flight deck, limiting its capacity to operate helicopters, but providing more VLS
During the commissioning ceremony, North Korea unveiled several of the vessel's weapons systems, including the Hwasong-11 missile and a Russian Pantsir-M naval close-in weapon system (CIWS) with 57E6M missiles.
The main gun is a locally produced 127mm naval cannon located ahead of the VLS array. It has optical and manual aiming with external ventilation. Close-range defense is provided by two AK-630 30mm cannons on either side and the aforementioned Pantsir-M CIWS located aft. Secondary armament comprises four quad-mounted Bulsae-4 anti-tank missile systems and assorted decoy launchers.
Anti-submarine warfare is enabled by two sets of dual torpedo tubes and bow-mounted sonar. While no towed sonar array has been sighted or reported, onboard systems imply the possible addition of Soviet-era RPK missile systems, allowing the vessel to conduct long-range torpedo or nuclear depth charge attacks.
As for sensor and electronics, the Choe Hyon has a 360-degree phased-array radar, two Russian-style fire-control radars, an MR-36-series air and surface search radar, standard navigation and IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) systems, and electronic-warfare antennas. Precise guidance techniques for its missile systems are not apparent, but radar-integrated or active-seeker technologies are probable.
The ship is powered by conventional diesel turbines, with bow thrusters as auxiliary units to help maneuver in harbor spaces. There is no specialized aviation hangar or flight deck, limiting its capacity to operate helicopters, but providing more VLS space.
The Choe Hyon has been assigned to the KPN's Eastern Fleet, which operates in waters adjacent to Japan. The Choe Hyon would officially be placed in KPN service by 2026 after ship tests are completed
Satellite images of the North Korean shipyard in Chongjin revealed a rapid pace of Choe Hyon-class missile destroyer construction at two shipyards simultaneously. Satellite images from 12 May 2025, published by CSIS, show the second ship progressing at a fast pace. This is the first image since November 2024, when the destroyer's hull was still hidden under a special canopy
South Korea's military said 22 May 2025 the DPRK appeared to have failed to complete a side-launch of the second ship, and it had partially capsized. With no engines or machinery to lower the center of gravity, but all the weapons installed, the ship was dangerously unstable and top-heavy. The North Koreans got lucky with the first ship.
The 5,000-ton destroyer suffered damage to its hull when the stern of the cradle detached prematurely during the launch ceremony in the northeastern city of Chongjin.
South Korea's military said US and Seoul intelligence authorities assess that North Korea's "side-launch attempt" of the ship failed.
"The side-launch method used in this case is no longer employed by South Korea's military," Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters
Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, also said the newly built warship may have been constructed with Russian assistance.
Chongjin, the North Korean city where the launch ceremony was held, is conveniently close to Russia's Vladivostok port, he noted.
"It's also likely that the projected timeline for the vessel -- including when assembly would be completed and the ship launched -- was shared with the Russian side," he told AFP.
"It appears the dock was hastily constructed, and multiple issues may have arisen during the shipbuilding process.
"With today's announcement, Pyongyang seems to be signalling not only to its own people, but also to the Russian side."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reprimanded officials over a "serious accident and criminal act" that resulted in damage to the newly built warship, state media reported. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) blamed the incident on "inexperienced command and operational carelessness".
Well-known KCNA television anchor Ri Chun-hee said in a broadcast that the incident was caused by "inexperienced command and operational carelessness."
"In the course of the launch, the launch slide of the stern has departed first and stranded as the flatcar failed to move in parallel," she said. "Some sections of the warship's bottom were crushed, destroying the balance of the warship and the bow couldn't leave the shipway, leading to a serious accident."
Kim offered "stern assessment" that the accident was caused by "absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism," which "could not be tolerated", the KCNA said.
Kim "warned solemnly" that officials responsible for the botched launch "would have to be dealt with" at the next meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, and "censured them for the fault", according to the KCNA
Kim "sternly warned" several government bodies and institutions, KCNA said, including the Department of Munitions Industry, the Institute of Dynamics of the State Academy of Sciences, Kim Chaek University of Technology and the Central Ship Design Institute.
Kim ordered the warship to be fixed in time for a plenary meeting of the party's central committee in June, describing the vessel's restoration as "not merely a practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state", according to. KCNA.
Official admissions of incompetence are uncommon in North Korea, where the ruling Kim family enjoys a near God-like status.
"There is no additional identified damage to the warship and the field rehabilitation promotion team is pushing ahead with the rehabilitation plan as scheduled," KCNA said.
Pyongyang denied that there had been any serious damage, saying the hull on the starboard side was scratched and some seawater flowed into the stern section.
On Friday, North Korea estimated that it would take two to three days to drain the flooded compartments and separate the bow from the slipway to restore balance to the warship. Repairing the starboard hull would then require approximately 10 additional days. Observers say it could take a lot longer.
North Korea initially reported that the accident had torn holes into the ship's hull. But it later retracted that assessment. Though some seawater flowed into the ship, a detailed inspection revealed that it had only sustained scratches, North Korea said on 23 May 2025.
Still, "the fact that the accident is an unpardonable criminal act remains unchanged, and those responsible for it can never evade their responsibility for the crime," Mr. Kim's Central Military Commission said. It said it was taking the accident seriously "to deal a telling blow" to lax attitudes "prevailing in any field."
The chief engineer at the Chongjin shipyard on North Korea's northeastern coast was arrested, as were the head of its hull-construction workshop and a deputy manager for administrative affairs, the official Korean Central News Agency reported
According to a Thursday report from the Beyond Parallel project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, the ship "may ultimately prove to be a complete loss."
The Washington-based think tank said the launch failure is "an embarrassment to (leader) Kim Jong Un and North Korea's Korean People's Navy," and would disrupt Kim's plans to turn the navy from a coastal defense force to a blue-water one, capable of "strategic offensive operations
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. James Fanell, who previously served as the chief of intelligence for the U.S. 7th Fleet and Pacific Fleet, told RFA that the incident may reflect internal pressures within North Korea's naval development program: "It is reported the North Korean Navy launched their first new destroyer using the floating dry-dock method, which worked well," he said. "Why Hambuk Shipyard was used to launch the second destroyer via the side-way gravitational method could be a reflection of the pressure Kim Jong Un has put on the North Korean [military] to more rapidly grow the size of the North Korean Navy."
The ship's appearance looks more like a destroyer operated by the South Korean or US Navy than a Russian or North Korean warship. North Korea even gave the ship the same number as the US Navy's core ship, the Arleigh Burke, DDG-51
North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported on 06 June 2025, that the damaged destroyer had succesfully been set upright. Following this, a group of experts would examine the overall hull of the destroyer for damage before additional restoration work to be carried out at the dry dock of the Rajin Dockyard for a stated period of 7-10 days. Jo Chun Ryong, secretary of the WPK Central Committee, who is guiding the work of the field restoration promotion team, said that the perfect restoration of the destroyer will be completed without fail before the convening of the Twelfth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK
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