North Korea readies first naval destroyer and new long-range artillery aimed at Seoul

Pyongyang, May 8. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the destroyer Choe Hyon off the country's west coast on May 7 and ordered the warship to be handed over to the navy by mid-June 2026.

North Korea's largest warship

Choe Hyon is North Korea's largest and most advanced warship. According to South Korean defence experts, it features vertical launch systems, cruise missiles, and a helicopter deck. Kim's teenage daughter accompanied him during the inspection.

New artillery aimed at Seoul

Kim also announced that new long-range artillery systems capable of striking the Seoul area would be deployed within the year. South Korea's capital is barely 50 kilometres from the DMZ and well within conventional artillery range.

Rising regional tensions

The announcements come as Korean Peninsula tensions surge. Pyongyang has reacted angrily to the revived US-South Korea-Japan trilateral cooperation in recent months. Since February, North Korea has conducted five ballistic missile tests.

South Korea and Japan's response

Seoul and Tokyo have strongly condemned the announcements. South Korea's National Security Council called an emergency meeting. Japan's defence ministry said the buildup is a "direct threat to regional peace". US Indo-Pacific Command has reiterated its "ironclad commitment" to allies.

What's next

Experts see the deployments as part of a strengthening China-Russia-North Korea axis. The Korean Peninsula will be on the agenda at the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.