Kim Jong Un Determined to Build a Nuclear-Armed Navy
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resolved to turn the country’s navy into a nuclear-armed military force. He made the pledge as the United States and its allies held joint maritime exercises this week.
This week’s maritime drills, involving the US, South Korea and Japan, form part of joint exercises conducted since 2023 which, according to officials from those countries, are intended to counter North Korean missile and nuclear threats.
Kim Jong Un’s pledge, as reported by AFP on Monday (7/9/2026), was delivered at the commissioning ceremony of the Kang Kon warship — a North Korean vessel that listed and nearly capsized during its launch in May 2025 — in the port city of Wonsan on Sunday (6/9) local time.
“We must ensure the implementation of diverse and effective nuclear combat system operations for an actual war situation, by developing our navy into a nuclear-armed force,” Kim Jong Un said at the ceremony, as quoted by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“Once an order is given at any time, this next-generation destroyer must be capable of launching a deadly counterattack against the enemy, because this ship is part of the country’s nuclear counteraction system,” Kim Jong Un stressed.
Photographs released by KCNA showed Kim Jong Un accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who is reported to have been designated as his successor.
In July, Kim Jong Un conducted a trial for the Kang Kon, one of two 5,000-tonne-class warships launched last year, carried out shortly after more than a year of repairs following damage sustained during its launch.
Analysing Kim Jong Un’s latest statement, Lim Eul Chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, said the North Korean leader’s reference to a “nuclear-armed navy” suggests the vessels could function as launch platforms for cruise missiles with tactical nuclear capability.
In his statement, Kim Jong Un also said North Korea was carrying out an “important plan” to strengthen its navy that would be revealed to the world “within eight months”.
According to Lim, the remark could signal the introduction of a major North Korean strategic asset, such as a new submarine capable of carrying submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
By deploying the Kang Kon warship to the East Sea, Lim assessed that Pyongyang is seeking to place the joint maritime exercises and its nuclear asset deployments within “direct range”.
The maritime exercise held by the US with South Korea and Japan, named Freedom Edge, is scheduled to run until Friday (11/9) in international waters to the east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island. The drills proceeded despite US President Donald Trump having previously scaled back joint exercises with South Korea.