According to information published on Thursday, March 5, 2026, by the North Korean state news agency KCNA, after the dictator visited the ship and held a briefing on board, the vessel put to sea and conducted combat training, during which a salvo of at least five strategic cruise missiles was launched one after another at short intervals.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw cruise missile launches from the Choe Hyon destroyer on North Korea's west coast Wednesday, marking final testing before the warship enters active service.
By @ColinZwirko: https://t.co/Q6my6X1y3e
Video: KCTV (March 5, 2026) pic.twitter.com/6ksWAvlhR0
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) March 5, 2026
According to current knowledge, the Choe Hyon-class multirole missile destroyers (although in practice they are heavily armed frigates) are intended to carry Hwasal-2 cruise missiles with a range of about 2,000 km. The missile is powered by a solid-fuel booster for launch and a turbojet engine for cruise flight. Its overall design resembles the American BGM/RGM/UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as the Russian 3M10 Granat and Kh-55 (North Korean submarine-launched cruise missile and construction of nuclear-powered vessels).
In total, in terms of missile armament of various types, the ship is reportedly equipped with 74 cells of universal vertical launch systems (VLS), including 32 small-diameter, 12 medium, 20 large, and 10 very large cells intended for the aforementioned cruise missiles as well as surface-to-air and ballistic missiles. In addition, the ship is equipped with four quadruple launchers for Kumsong-3 anti-ship missiles, four quadruple launchers for Bulsae-4 anti-tank guided missiles, a Pantsir-ME–type air defense system (copy), two 30-mm AK-630 close-in weapon systems, a single 127/130-mm naval gun, and two twin 533-mm DTA-53 torpedo launchers.
The construction of the vessel was revealed on December 29, 2024, during Kim Jong Un’s visit to the Namp’o shipyard, located at the mouth of the Taedong River in South Pyongan Province, when work was already well advanced. Another inspection visit took place on March 8, 2025. The ship was launched on April 25 of the same year, and weapons testing began just five days later.
The hull is estimated to be about 140–145 m long, 16 m wide, with a displacement of around 5,000 tons. It is equipped with a phased-array radar with fixed panels, a Chinese Type 362 surface/air search radar, three fire-control radars, two navigation radars, a hull-mounted sonar, an identification friend-or-foe (IFF) system, four decoy launchers, and a radar/communications electronic support system (C-ESM/R-ESM). At the stern there is space for a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle.
It is worth noting that trials are also underway for the second ship, Kang Kon (52), which suffered a serious accident during its launch on May 22, 2025. The vessel was successfully recovered from the water and re-launched on June 12 (while the shipyard director was arrested). Construction is also continuing on a third, still unnamed ship with hull number 53, whose launch is planned for November this year. Kim Jong Un has announced that after 2026 two ships per year (of this type or a more advanced one) will be commissioned until a total of 12 vessels is reached, with a target date of 2030.
Photo Gallery (KCNA):
