July 24, 2026 | The Diplomat
The Rise of North Korea’s Nuclear-Armed Navy
North Korea has modified its hierarchy of defense priorities by elevating the importance of the KPAN.
July 24, 2026 | The Diplomat
The Rise of North Korea’s Nuclear-Armed Navy
North Korea has modified its hierarchy of defense priorities by elevating the importance of the KPAN.
Excerpt
Nuclear-capable cruise missiles rose from the soon-to-be commissioned North Korean guided missile destroyer, Kang Kon (52), as Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un watched on July 3. The launch was conducted less than two weeks after the Korean People’s Army Navy (KPAN) formally commissioned the 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon (51), North Korea’s largest domestically produced surface warship.
These two events underscore indications that North Korea is engaging in a concerted effort to build up its navy. At the Choe Hyon’s commissioning, Kim declared that the KPAN had entered a “new era” after “over 70 years” of naval stagnation.
Logan Rolleigh is a research assistant at the Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Ryan Brobst serves as deputy director.