Navy holds ceremony marking launch of new fleet command to strengthen response to North Korean threats
Published: 03 Feb. 2025, 13:34
![The new 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great destroyer, equipped with the latest Aegis combat system, docks at a naval base on the southern resort island of Jeju on Feb. 1. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/03/5591d752-b37c-4d97-a11d-026fd48a6e20.jpg)
The new 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great destroyer, equipped with the latest Aegis combat system, docks at a naval base on the southern resort island of Jeju on Feb. 1. [YONHAP]
The Navy held a ceremony on Monday to mark the establishment of a new fleet command aimed at better responding to North Korea's military threats at sea, officials said.
On Saturday, the Navy officially launched the Republic of Korea Navy Task Fleet Command, calling it a "core unit of the maritime three-axis system against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."
The ceremony took place at a key naval base on Jeju Island, attended by some 400 guests, according to the officials.
"The Task Fleet Command is a central unit that strongly deters and responds to North Korea's maritime provocations and preemptively prepares for potential threats that have not yet materialized," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Yang Yong-mo said.
The new command operates 10 destroyers and four auxiliary ships, including the 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great destroyer equipped with radar-evading functions and the newest Aegis combat system, according to the Navy.
Ships built under South Korea's next-generation destroyer project, referred to as KDDX, will also be assigned to the new command upon completion, it added.
The maritime three-axis system refers to the maritime version of the military's three-pronged deterrence structure comprising the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform, the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation system and the Korea Air and Missile Defense.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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