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North Korea building new 3,000-ton frigate possibly with guided missiles, footage suggests

Published: 30 Dec. 2024, 15:01

LIM JEONG-WON
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, attends the completion ceremony for the Sinpo Seaside Fish Farm in Sinpo on Dec. 28. [YONHAP]

North Korea released footage of a new 3,000-ton frigate under construction for the first time on Monday through its state media, with leader Kim Jong-un reportedly having visited the construction site some days before.

The ship revealed through the state-run Korean Central Television on Monday was larger than the existing 1,500-ton frigates manufactured by North Korea, and experts say it is likely Pyongyang’s first guided missile frigate equipped with a vertical launching system (VLS). North Korea may have also received related technology from Russia.

The Korean Central Television released a photo of Kim visiting the construction site of the frigate as it reported on the expanded plenary session of the ruling Workers’ Party at the end of the year.

Kim's visit to the construction site of the new ship had not been reported before.

Kim was seen on board a frigate under construction and providing on-site guidance. The new ship in the footage is notably larger than North Korea's previously disclosed Yalu-class 1,500-ton frigates.

However, Korean Central Television did not disclose the exact time or location of Kim’s visit to the construction site. The new frigate may be under construction at Nampo Shipyard in South Pyongan Province, which Kim supervised in February this year.

“Strengthening naval power is the most important issue today,” Kim said during his February visit to Nampo Shipyard. “We need to unconditionally execute all shipbuilding projects decided by the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea within the five-year plan period."

At the time, the outline of the new frigate was not disclosed, but the footage and report Monday show evidence that considerable progress has been made in the ship's construction. Judging from Kim's thick leather jacket in the released footage, his visit appears to have occurred around October or November.

“The new frigate looks similar to the Russian Admiral Grigorovich-class (3,600-tons) frigate in terms of appearance,” said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU). “It could be an attempt by North Korea to significantly strengthen its conventional power, including its inferior naval power as well as nuclear and missile capabilities, through cooperation with Russia.”

A new 3,000-ton frigate being built by the North Korean Navy is seen in this image released by the state-run Korean Central Television on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Previously, Kim revealed his plan to modernize his naval arsenal in a speech at the launching ceremony of the Sinpo C-class Kim Gun-ok ship on Sept. 6 last year, with observers saying the North Korean leader may have had technological cooperation with Russia in mind, including submarines and surface ships.

In particular, Russia’s Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates are stealthy warships equipped with a VLS for antiaircraft and antiship missiles, strengthening their air defense capabilities.

Russian military bloggers say that based on the released footage, it appears that North Korea "is trying to install vertical launchers such as Russia's UKSK 3S-14 or the U.S. Mark 41" on the frigates and that the ship "could be the first frigate in the North Korean fleet to be equipped with guided missiles.”

Kim has spurred the construction of the next generation of submarines and surface ships, with strengthening naval power included in the five major national defense tasks presented at the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in January 2021.

Recently, South Korean military authorities have detected the construction of a new submarine at Sinpo Shipyard on the East Sea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of a new 3,000-ton frigate, in this undated image released by the state-run Korean Central Television on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Furthermore, Kim has continued his year-end activities to highlight his image as a leader who cares for the people.

According to the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Sunday, Kim gave a speech at the completion ceremony of the newly built Sinpo Seaside Fish Farm in Pungeo-dong in Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, the previous day.

“What was once a pine forest and white sand beach just five months ago has now become a fish farm,” Kim said in his speech, according to the Rodong Sinmum report. “This is a historic feat of local revitalization.”

The construction of the Sinpo Seaside Fish Farm is part of the "20×10 regional development policy" that Kim touts as a recent achievement. This was Kim’s first visit to the farm in five months since July.

Some say the visit may also be part of efforts to idolize Kim, as the exterior of the Sinpo Seaside Fish Farm building bears slogans such as, “Long live the great Comrade Kim Jong-un’s revolutionary ideology.”

At the same time, given that Sinpo has a submarine base, it is also possible that Kim made an unofficial visit to the base on a multipurpose trip.

Meanwhile, Pak Tae-song, Kim’s closest aide and new premier of the North Korean Cabinet, appointed at the expanded plenary session of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held from Dec. 23 to 27, has also begun his official activities.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday, Pak began itinerary items such as sending a condolence message for the death of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

BY LEE YOO-JUNG, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]