North Korea’s Choe Hyon Destroyer: Start Of A Modernizing Trend? – Analysis

May 6, 2025May 6, 2025 Geopolitical Monitor 0 Comments

By Mark Soo

On April 25, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the unveiling of a new indigenous naval ship known as the Choe Hyon. The event coincided with celebrations for the 93rd founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army (KPA).

The ship is named after Choe Hyon, an anti-Japanese guerrilla fighter with the Northeast Counter-Japanese United Army (NAJUA) and the father of Choe Ryong-hae, who is both the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) and the First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission.

Classified by the Korean People’s Navy (KPN) as a destroyer with a 5,000 tonnes displacement, the Choe Hyon was constructed by Nampo Shipyard and it was claimed that the vessel was constructed in just 400 days, without relying of foreign assistance. Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un was present with Kim Ju-ae, his daughter and speculated heir, alongside Admiral Kim Myong Sik, Commander-in-Chief of the KPN and senior leaders in the West and East fleets.

Kim Yo Jong was reportedly present in the ceremony, who came with two children who are supposedly her own. No Kwang-chol, the North Korean defense minister, officially cut the ropes that launched the Choe Hyon. Kim spoke in a speech where he pledged to have more Choe Hyon-type destroyers built in the future while he indicated that the ship will build up North Korean maritime sovereignty and challenge military threats, including naval blockades and nuclear threats.

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. The Choe Hyon will officially be placed in KPN service by 2026 after ship tests are completed.

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 was 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. By April 9, 2025, 38 North reported that the ship’s construction was finished and was likely moved into a drydock. From April 28 to 29, 2025, the Choe Hyon was deployed for a series of tests. These tests consisted of its weapons, smoke, and electronic warfare systems. Kim, along with officials from the Missile Administration, the Academy of Defence Sciences, the Detection and Electronic Warfare Administration, and the Nampo Shipyard were present to inspect the tests.

Among the weapons tested was a vertical launch system (VLS), which can be used to launch both ballistic and cruise missiles. The presence of a VLS makes the ship a potential nuclear strike platform for the KPA in the event of a conflict. Lee Illwoo of the Korea Defense Network indicated that some of the Choe Hyon’s weapons, anti-radar, and engine systems were likely obtained with Russian help. There is however no indication that the ship has sonar or torpedo systems necessary for anti-submarine warfare.

The unveiling of the Choe Hyon in a public event is an important step for Pyongyang. It shows that the country has ambitions regarding changing the KPN from a brown-water navy to a blue-water navy. It also pushes forward the narrative of a modernizing KPA, one equipped with the cutting-edge military hardware needed to challenge the US Navy and other states beyond the Korean Peninsula, which would bring major changes to regional security in East Asia.

The broader modernization also produces a greater capacity for anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) tactics in a potential conflict, likely forcing South Korea, Japan and the United States to accelerate their own respective investments into naval modernization, naval warfare, and missile defense platforms.