North Korean leader Kim supervises missile tests on new destroyer
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of a strategic cruise missile and other weapons aboard a newly repaired destroyer, state media reported on Sunday.
The tests took place on Friday aboard the 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon, which had been damaged during a failed launch ceremony in 2025 and subsequently repaired, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The event included test-firings of a strategic cruise missile, the ship's main gun and automatic cannons, as well as trials of its electronic warfare systems and assessments of its target-detection and information-processing capabilities, KCNA said, as reported by the Associated Press.
The display of military capability comes amid North Korea's push to develop a nuclear-powered navy. The country has been increasing its naval capabilities in recent years, including the development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
North Korea's weapons tests are regularly condemned by the United States, South Korea, and other nations as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit the country's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
The Kang Kon destroyer, named after a Korean War-era general, is one of the largest surface combatants in North Korea's navy.
