North Korea adds second destroyer: Kim Jong Un

लगानी न्यूज

२२ भाद्र २०८३, सोमबार १२:३९September 7, 2026

. On the same day that the United States, South Korea and Japan began joint military exercises, North Korea has pledged to strengthen its nuclear deterrence by inducting a second advanced naval destroyer.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inducted the destroyer Kang Kon into the navy at a ceremony in the eastern port city of Wonsan on Sunday, state media said. His teenage daughter also attended the ceremony. His daughter is being seen by South Korea’s spy service as a possible successor.TAG_OPEN_div_26

At the ceremony, Kim said nuclear-armed warships would make North Korea’s nuclear deterrence more diverse and pragmatic and stressed the need to build a powerful and reliable nuclear capability for maritime defense and war deterrence. “The enemy’s concerns will certainly be deepened,” he said.TAG_OPEN_div_24

The ‘Cho Hyeon’ and the new ‘Kang Kon’, which entered service last June, are both destroyers of about five thousand tons. According to North Korea, both are equipped with nuclear-capable missiles.TAG_OPEN_div_22

Meanwhile, the United States, South Korea and Japan have begun a five-day ‘Freedom Age’ military exercise near South Korea’s Jeju Island. South Korea has said the drills are defensive and aimed at enhancing North Korea’s joint response capabilities against nuclear threats.TAG_OPEN_div_20

North Korea has criticized the drills as a continuation of the hostile U.S. policy. Earlier, the U.S. and South Korea ended the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise six days ahead of schedule. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had ordered a “substantial reduction” of the drills.TAG_OPEN_div_18

TAG_OPEN_div_16 But Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister and a senior official, said the shortening of the drills would not change its “provocative and aggressive nature”. North Korea then fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles.

TAG_OPEN_div_14Kim has said the U.S. can abandon its “hostile policy” and return to talks if it respects North Korea’s status as a nuclear state. Diplomacy between the two countries failed in 2019 when there was no agreement on economic benefits in exchange for limited denuclearization. Experts say that North Korea’s evolving nuclear program and growing relations with Russia and China have given Kim an additional advantage in the talks.