North Korea's second Choe Hyon-class destroyer, the Kang Kon, has completed live-fire weapons testing in waters off the peninsula, marking a rapid turnaround from the vessel's disastrous launch last May that saw it capsize and sustain hull damage.
State-run Korean Central News Agency reported Friday's tests included main gun and autocannon fire, as well as the launch of vertically-launched cruise missiles KCNA described as "strategic" — the regime's standard terminology for nuclear-capable systems. Electronic warfare suites and target detection arrays also underwent trials under the supervision of Kim Jong Un.
The 5,000-ton warship's progress comes roughly one year after its stern slid prematurely down the launch ramp, crushing part of the hull and leaving the vessel listing on its side under blue tarps at the Nampo shipyard. Kim ordered detentions at the time, calling the incident a "serious accident and criminal act." Repairs concluded within a month, and the Kang Kon was quietly re-floated.
Kim now wants the destroyer combat-ready within 60 days, according to the KCNA dispatch. That timeline would put the Kang Kon on active duty alongside its lead-ship sister, the Choe Hyon, which was commissioned in late June 2025. Two additional hulls of the class are planned, plus a separate 10,000-ton surface combatant.
The destroyer program forms the surface component of a naval modernization push — alongside the Hero Kim Kun Ok submarine — designed to give Pyongyang a sea-based nuclear strike option as a hedge against land-based intercontinental ballistic missile vulnerabilities. For U.S. force planners, the combination of nuclear-capable cruise missiles on platforms able to operate farther from North Korean shores complicates regional missile defense architectures and increases the threat envelope for allied naval assets in the Western Pacific.
KCNA footage did not specify the cruise missile's range or payload, though previous tests of the Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missile series have demonstrated ranges sufficient to cover all of South Korea and U.S. bases in Japan. The Kang Kon's vertical launch cells, if configured similarly to the Choe Hyon, provide a more survivable launch platform than shore-based transporter-erector-launchers.