Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Satellite images show NK building third destroyer at Nampo Shipyard
A satellite image of North Korea's Nampo Shipyard on March 28 / Courtesy of Rep. Yu Yong-weon's office
By Jhoo Dong-chan
North Korea is moving ahead with the construction of a third Choe Hyon-class destroyer at Nampo Shipyard on its west coast while continuing to prepare its first vessel for deployment, according to high-resolution commercial satellite imagery released Wednesday by Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party.
The images, captured between March 12 and 28 by U.S.-based space intelligence firm Vantor, show large cranes and marine hoisting equipment operating continuously around the third hull under construction.
Yu said the periodic repositioning of the cranes indicates that major structural blocks and superstructure components — including radar arrays and weapons systems — are being lifted into place, suggesting the vessel has advanced beyond the basic hull assembly stage.
Separately, the imagery shows the first ship of the class, Choe Hyon, moored at Nampo with visible exhaust emissions from its engines, along with small crane movements around the vessel that Yu said may indicate additional weapons being installed.
Chang Young-keun, head of the missile center at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said the crane activity around the hull is consistent with a fitting-out phase in which sensors, masts and piping are installed after the ship's exterior structure is complete.
"The fact that North Korea is maintaining a shipyard and port operations system capable of actually continuing to build large surface combatants is what matters," Chang said.
The Choe Hyon class, which North Korea has described as central to its naval modernization, is a destroyer displacing more than 5,000 tons — larger than the South Korean Navy’s Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class vessels. It is equipped with four fixed-panel phased array radars providing 360-degree coverage, a 127-millimeter naval gun, short-range air defense systems and antiship missiles, according to Yu’s office.
North Korean state media reported in March that a cruise missile test-fired from Choe Hyon flew for between 10,116 and 10,138 seconds, striking a target island. Defense analysts cited by Yu's office estimated that the flight duration corresponds to a range of 2,000 to 2,500 kilometers, placing U.S. military installations in Okinawa, Japan, within potential reach.
North Korea announced in July 2025 that workers at Nampo Shipyard had pledged to complete a third Choe Hyon-class destroyer by Oct. 10, the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Workers' Party. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the shipyard in early March and stated that the navy's nuclear armament program was proceeding satisfactorily, state media reported.
Yu, a former defense correspondent who now serves on the National Assembly's defense committee, said North Korea appeared to be developing the Choe Hyon class as a sea-based platform for nuclear-capable missiles, alongside its existing land-based mobile launchers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
He called for the government to accelerate the acquisition of SM-6 and SM-3 interceptor missiles for its own destroyer fleet, saying procurement of both systems has faced delays.
A satellite image of North Korea's Nampo Shipyard on March 12 / Courtesy of Rep. Yu Yong-weon's office