North Korea to build 10,000-ton destroyer, state media says before Xi visit

SEOUL: North Korea plans to build a 10,000-ton destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons, state media said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, reporting on a Thursday naval test supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, said he ordered the navy to deploy the destroyer Kang Kon and another 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, as soon as possible.

The newspaper did not give further details.

It is the first time North Korea has mentioned a plan to build a 10,000-ton destroyer, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at South Korea’s Institute for National Unification.

Kim may be seeking to showcase the country’s military capabilities ahead of Xi’s visit on Monday and Tuesday, Hong said.

The North Korean leader said Pyongyang must enhance its naval capabilities to deter a nuclear war, while calling for powerful military capabilities across land, sea and air, the newspaper said.

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Xi is making his first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally.

Before the visit was announced, Kim on Thursday called for an “exponential” expansion of North Korea’s atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory.

During Kim’s ship inspection, he was joined by his daughter, believed to be a teenager named Ju Ae, a photo published by the newspaper showed.

North Korea said in May 2025 that a 5,000-ton destroyer had partially capsized during a launching ceremony in Chongjin port. Kim, who was overseeing the ceremony, condemned the accident and called it a “criminal act” that could not be tolerated.

After the ship was repaired at Rajin port, a second launching ceremony was held the next month, when the vessel was named the Kang Kon.