How North Korea’s New Warship Exposes Fast Shipbuilding Tricks | WSJ
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Kim Jong Un’s new 5,000-ton destroyer capsized after North Korea tried a side launch of a military ship. But what seems like a major setback for Pyongyang’s Soviet-era navy reveals the close military ties North Korea has with Russia. Certain elements in the design of North Korea’s new Chlo Hon-class warship resemble Russia’s own Grigorovich-class frigates.
WSJ explores how Moscow appears to be helping Pyongyang build warships, claimed to be nuclear-capable, faster than China.
Chapters:
0:00 North Korea’s capsized warship
0:40 North Korea’s new fleet
1:18 How North Korean ships resembles Russian ships
3:18 Growing ties
3:53 North Korea’s building speed
5:35 Propaganda tool
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North Korea’s capsized warship
(crowd screaming)
- [Narrator] This is what a successful side launch
of a ship looks like.
And this is Kim Jong Un's brand new 5,000 ton destroyer.
It capsized after North Korea tried the same launch method,
but what seems like a major setback
for North Korea's efforts
to modernize its Soviet Navy offers a rare glimpse
into the shadowy relationships between Pyongyang and Moscow.
- The botch launch at Choe Hyon was very embarrassing,
but these ships reveal deep technological ties
between Russia and North Korea.
- [Narrator] Here's how Moscow appears
to be helping Pyongyang build warships faster than China.
Recently, North Korea revealed what appeared
to be its most sophisticated vessels to date.
The Capsized Choe Hyon class warship
that was put upright by June
and the first Choe Hyon Destroyer
successfully launched in April.
- It would be impossible for North Korea
to build a ship this quickly without outside assistance.
- [Narrator] Mike Plunkett is a naval analyst
with defense Intelligence company Janes
- On the surface of it, these ships are very impressive.
They are modern, they have wide range of capabilities,
but there are a few hints
that they may not be everything that they appear to be.
How North Korean ships resembles Russian ships
- [Narrator] Certain elements in the design
of North Korea's new warships indicate a high level
of Russian involvement, especially when compared
to Russia's own Grigorovich-class frigates.
- The stern here they have the same basic squared off
shape in both classes.
The profile of the foredeck and the bow
is the same or very similar on both.
- [Narrator] Images of the Choe Hyon Destroyer launched
in April also bear a strong resemblance
to the Russian warship.
- The real giveaway is this chine that runs the length
of the hull from bow to stern.
- [Narrator] This is a line marking where the slope
of the hull changes direction.
- It's the same on both classes.
- [Narrator] Even design variations
indicate how closely Russia appears
to be involved in the development of the new vessels.
- One difference that we do see between the two ships
is that the bow on the North Korean ship is considerably
sharper in its rake, it's steeper angle than the Russian.
- [Narrator] That is because the Russian frigate
is approximately 410 feet long,
which is about 65 feet shorter than North Korea's warship.
- They need the extra length
because they have packed significantly more weaponry,
more missile systems into this hull than is present
in the original Grigorovich.
You would need Russian assistance in doing this
because it's a Russian design.
So they are familiar with the strengths
and the weaknesses of the hull where it would be safest
and strongest to insert that additional length
and how it could be done as quickly and safely as possible.
- [Narrator] The tech ties between Russia and North Korea
go beyond designs alone as Moscow seems
to have supplied Pyongyang with the Pantsir-M,
a Russian only short range anti-missile air defense system.
- This is the first time this system has been seen
on a warship other than in the Russian Navy.
So this is clearly a direct export
from Russia to North Korea to arm this particular warship.
Growing ties
- [Narrator] Kim Jong Un has long dreamed
of modernizing his outdated navy.
And in 2023 he visited the headquarters
of the Russian Pacific fleet.
- At the time, it was built as sort of a friendship meeting
with Kim Jong Un being shown
around the Russian naval facilities
and shown how powerful the Russian Pacific fleet was.
I suspect he was actually a sales pitch
as much as anything.
He was being shown naval technology
that the Russians could offer
or were in the process of handing over to the North Koreans.
North Korea’s building speed
- [Narrator] In April, 2025, a year and a half later,
Kim revealed North Korea's first destroyer.
Pyongyang said it took roughly 400 days to build.
- For warships at this size,
the North Koreans have built it
even faster than the Chinese would.
- [Narrator] China typically takes 18 months to build
and launch a similar class of warship,
a US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
will need about two years,
while Russia can take up to 11 years to build a frigate.
So for North Korea to build two of these
within around a year is extremely fast,
causing some experts to wander
whether these are actually completed ships.
- There are a few things in these images that point
to the possibility
that these ships don't actually have any engines fitted.
So firstly, there are a series of vents in the funnel,
which are used to take in air for cooling the engine
and other machinery deep inside the ship.
And we can see in this image that all these vents,
they're all blanked off with metal plates.
They're not taking in any air for anything.
At the moment, we've only seen it moving around
with the assistance of tugs.
We've not seen it moving under its own power.
The other clue is that the water line,
which is where the water is supposed
to be when the ship is normally loaded,
it is a long way above the water,
which indicates the ship is very lightly loaded.
Now again, that may not be particularly surprising
because she won't have any fuel on board.
She won't have any provisions, any water,
any significant amounts of weaponry.
But it is still a very, very long way up,
which suggests there's a large amount of mass missing.
Propaganda tool
- [Narrator] The Choe Hyon warships
serve as a powerful propaganda tool for Kim.
Shortly after launching the first destroyer,
North Korea also demonstrated its ability
to fire missiles from the ship.
- We know the Choe Hyon Confederate guns.
We know it confederates missiles,
whether it's capable of a meaningful operational engagement
is questionable.
Whether it's capable of moving anywhere
under its own power is questionable.
- [Narrator] But even if there are no engines
in North Korea's newest warships,
the possibility that they could carry
and launch nuclear weapons is a threatening development.
- If more modern platforms are starting
to enter North Korean service,
then it complicates the South Korean calculus
on how they deal with the North Korean Navy
and provides North Korea with more options
for striking at South Korea or US base in the region.
(ominous music)
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