North Korea builds missile destroyer in 400 days

North Korea has held an official ceremony to launch the first multi-purpose missile destroyer of a new generation.

This was reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The official launching ceremony took place on April 25, 2025, at the shipyard in Nampo, where it was built, which lasted a record 400 days for North Korea.

The launched ship was officially classified as a 5,000-ton multi-purpose destroyer with an expanded set of missile weapons. It should be noted that the ship is likely to have inoperable systems, as even leaders in the field of military shipbuilding, such as China and Japan, spend two to three years just to build a hull and install the appropriate weapons and systems.

According to the published photos, the ship is equipped with vertical launchers, which are probably not universal, as they are presented in two types: larger for strike weapons and smaller for air defense missiles. The total number of cells is 74.

According to North Korea’s propaganda media, the ship is equipped with advanced technical solutions developed locally and is the pride of North Korean engineers.

A detailed inspection of the ship also allowed us to better familiarize ourselves with its weapons, which consist of a 127 mm automatic cannon and an anti-aircraft artillery system for direct defense of the ship, which has visual similarities to the Soviet 30 mm AK-230 and AK-360 systems.

The ship’s air defense is also complemented by one North Korean anti-aircraft gun system, which visually resembles the Russian Pantsir-M and is located in the stern of the ship.

Anti-ship and strike weapons on both sides were not shown at the time of the official launching ceremony, but according to military observers, they may consist of eight Hwasal-2 missile launch containers capable of hitting moving targets. In addition, four-launch systems for the North Korean analog of the Spike ER/NLOS missile were installed on both sides.

Also on both sides of the ship are twin-tube 533 mm torpedo tubes, which are partially covered by a radio-absorbing structure.

The radar part is represented by four panel antennas, which, judging by their structure, are made using active phased array technology, making them a multi-purpose solution for airspace monitoring and guidance of certain types of weapons.

In addition, an interesting element is the installation of radar antennas on the bow and stern to guide anti-aircraft missiles, which is likely related to the use of North Korean missiles similar to the Thor missiles, which have radio-command guidance.

The ship also has electronic warfare systems of unknown type installed near the main radar antennas.

It should be noted that in addition to the launched ship, a similarly designed ship is also under construction at the Cheonggyin shipyard, and its launch is also likely to take place in 2025.