NK News: North Korea Shows Signs of Building New Warships in Nampo and Chongjin

Signs have been detected that North Korea has simultaneously embarked on the construction of new warships on both its west and east coasts.

U.S. North Korea-focused media outlet NK News reported on the 25th (local time) that an analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery revealed signs of warship construction at the Nampo Dockyard on the west coast and the Chongjin Dockyard on the east coast.

Indications of hull assembly at the Nampo Dockyard first appeared around early July.

NK News noted that while it is still too early to determine the scale of the warship under construction, it could potentially be a 10,000-ton cruiser.

This would be larger than the 5,000-ton destroyer recently commissioned by North Korea, and upon completion, it would become North Korea's first 10,000-ton warship.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un previously announced plans to build a 10,000-ton cruiser during a commissioning ceremony for the new 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon in June.

NK News also reported that North Korean state media stated that work on a second destroyer at the Nampo Dockyard began in July of last year. Given that officials at the time pledged to launch the destroyer by October 10 of this year, a launching ceremony could take place within the next few weeks if the schedule holds.

Signs of ship construction at the Chongjin Dockyard on the east coast were spotted in mid-August.

Satellite imagery confirmed that the assembly of a red hull has begun at the Chongjin Dockyard, though the size of the vessel has not yet been ascertained.

However, NK News suggested that the vessel under construction at the Chongjin Dockyard could be either a 5,000-ton destroyer or the 10,000-ton cruiser mentioned by leader Kim.

NK News further explained that modernization work is underway at shipyards in both Nampo and Chongjin.

Dozens of buildings with blue roofs have appeared at these dockyards since last month, which are believed to be used as accommodations for construction workers.

North Korea approved a five-year plan for navy modernization at the 9th Party Congress held early this year and has been channeling various resources into the effort.

Meanwhile, NK News reported that an analysis of satellite imagery captured on the 20th of this month showed no signs of new vessel construction yet at the Rajin Port Dockyard.

(Photo: Pyongyang Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.