Satellite images show progress
North Korea is probably building the largest warship in its history
04/14/2025 – 3:11 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
So far, North Korea’s war fleet primarily consists of patrol boats. In the future, however, a frigate should be added. Satellite images show the ship under construction. But experts doubt his skills.
According to current satellite images, North Korea apparently builds the largest warship in its history. The US news broadcaster CNN reports on this.
The recordings of the ship under construction come from April 6 and show a construction progress that significantly exceeds the previous extent of North Korean naval projects. They were recorded by the private satellite companies Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs and show the Nampo shipyard on the west coast of the country, around 60 kilometers southwest of the capital Pyongyang.
As the analysts Joseph Bervudez Jr. and Jennifer Jun from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explain in the CNN report, the ship should be an approximately 140-meter-long steering weapon frigate-and thus the largest warship of North Korea. Striking: The frigate seems to be designed for the use of modern weapon systems such as vertical rocket starters and phased array radars. The latter could record goals much faster and more precisely than previous North Korean systems.
Despite such high-tech elements, there are doubts about North Korea’s skills. At CNN, the former US marine captain Carl Schuster emphasized that the construction of a ship’s hull was relatively simple-but the actual challenge was the integration of sensors, electronics and weapons systems.
Kim Byung-Kee, South Korean parliamentary member and member of the intelligence agency, also expresses doubts: North Korea cannot be operated, staff or logistical support for such a ship.
A report by the US Denkfabrik International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in January 2025 complements this context: The ship has already been shown in North Korean state media in December 2024-with Kim Jong-Un, who is said to have inspected it personally. According to IIS, the pictures show that it is very likely that the ship that was first recorded in October 2024 by satellite shots. Even then, size and camouflage measures around the shipyard were striking.
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According to IISS, the new recordings occupy a minimum of 100 meters in length, with a possible final size of more than 120 meters. With this, the ship also clearly transfers all previous North Korean constructions. It remains unclear which weapons will ultimately be on board. There are indications of a possible vertical rocket start system – that would also be a premiere for the North Korean Navy.
In view of the aging fleet of North Korea, which, according to IISS is composed of hundreds of small, outdated patrol boats, the construction of a large warship is probably less an operational turn than an propaganda demonstration. suspected.
According to CNN analysts, the ship is still far from operational readiness. The super structure, sensors and weapon systems are still largely missing. A commissioning is therefore likely to take place in one year at the earliest.
