The site is advancing. According to satellite images revealed by CNN this Monday, April 14, North Korea indeed continues to build its greatest warship. If the existence of the vessel, located on the Nampo shipyard, on the west coast of the country, is not in doubt, its scope is however surprising. And for good reason: this could be more than double the size of all the current vessels of the country led by Kim Jong-un.
In a report broadcast at the end of last year, the North Korean State Channel (KCTV) posted the country’s manager in full visit to a shipyard. During this trip already, shots showing an imposing warship in full construction, with modern weapons to carry out missile fire, had been broadcast on local television.
“The FFG (Missile Lance frigate) is about 140 meters long, making it the largest warship made in North Korea”insist with CNN Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jennifer Jun of the American think tank “Center for Strategic and International Studies”. According to these two experts, the machine would probably be designed to transport missiles in vertical launch tubes intended to be used on both land and sea.
Regional security in danger?
This new military development of Pyongyang has something to arouse fears of his neighbor in the South. “If North Korea equips the new Hypersonic ballistic missile frigate which it claims to have tested successfully in January, this will have an impact that will change the situation in terms of regional security”, Considers the former South Korean admiral Kim Duk-Ki, quoted by the American television channel.
At this stage, according to a report by the American Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) published in 2021, the North Korean navy has approximately 400 patrollers and 70 submarines. According to various observers, this equipment is however considered aging. This is why Kim Jong-un launched a massive investment to modernize his armed forces.
On March 21, the North Korean official agency (KCNA) announced that its head of state had attended the test of new anti-aircraft missiles. Pictures of projectiles, launched from the track of an airport and explosions at sea, had then been shared. “This essay has proven that the North Korean army is now equipped with another major armament system with laudable combat performance”had hammered Kim Jong-un.
