TYRANT Kim Jong-un has unveiled North Korea's largest naval destroyer that could house a vertical launchpad capable of firing guided cruise missiles. The mighty vessel - said to be similar to Russia's famed Admiral Grigorovich frigate - is expected to substantially boost North Korea's naval capabilities.
![[North Korean warship under construction at Nampo Shipyard.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/kim-jong-uns-warship-north-962614229.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Pictures released by the state media - known to be Kim's propaganda machine - show the mighty destroyer being built at a naval facility. Analysts say, based on the images of the unfinished vessel, that the destroyer could be as large as 330ft from bow to stern and have a beam approximately 50ft wide.
![[North Korean warship under construction at Nampo Shipyard.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/kim-jong-uns-warship-north-962615199.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
At over 3,600 tonnes, the destroyer is set to become the largest warship in North Korea's naval arsenal, surpassing the current largest vessel, a 1,360-tonne frigate. A closeup picture of the bow shows an empty space that is expected to house various vertical launch missile systems.
![[Kim Jong Un oversees the construction of a North Korean warship.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/kim-jong-uns-warship-north-962616202.jpg?strip=all&w=719)
These launchers will be capable of firing guided cruise missiles, alongside a mounted naval gun that is expected to be placed at the front. Military experts believe the warship is currently being built at the Nampho Dockyard, located on the west coast of the country.
![[Kim Jong Un's new warship: 330ft long, 3,600 tonnes, with ship-to-air missile launchpad and naval gun.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image_e818c9.png?strip=all&w=720)
Kim Jong-un was seen at the shipbuilding facility inspecting the construction of the vessel. It could take 10 years for the North Korean military to finish building the warship, according to analysts. Joseph Dempsey, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Seoul-based NK News: "[The naval warship is] “likely a destroyer and the largest warship ever constructed in the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea].
![[Russian Navy frigate Admiral Grigorovich sailing.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/russian-navys-frigate-admiral-grigorovich-314794966.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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