North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seeking to expand warship production by adding a dock and increasing automation at Nampho Shipyard, state media reported Nov. 4.
Kim made the proposals during a Nov. 2 visit, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Photographs released by the agency showed part of a warship’s hull under construction. Kim described the vessel as much larger than a destroyer built last year, but KCNA gave no class or tonnage.
Kim also called for changes to the yard’s building layout. KCNA said the proposed dock would enable Nampho to handle ship construction and repairs at the same time.
The visit follows a target Kim set in a June 23 speech: two surface warships a year under a new five-year plan. He said the planned ships should be in a class above the Choe Hyon destroyer and included a 10,000-ton cruiser among his goals. Kim linked the expansion to maritime defense and deterrence and said North Korea needed bases that could accommodate larger vessels.
In an Oct. 2 analysis of satellite images, 38 North identified a hall under construction, land clearance beside existing shipbuilding facilities and work to extend the quay. The researchers said the hall was unlikely to be used to build ships because it lacked direct access to the water. They could not determine the purposes of the land clearance or quay work.
KCNA reported in March that a third Choe Hyon-class destroyer was being built at Nampho. A shipyard target to complete that vessel by Oct. 10 passed without an announced launch. KCNA did not identify the hull photographed during Kim’s latest visit as that destroyer or provide a completion date for it.
