Newly captured satellite images obtained by Business Insider show North Korea’s ongoing work on what analysts assess is its largest warship. The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has made modernizing the navy a priority.
Maxar Technologies, a US commercial satellite imaging company, captured photos on April 6 of the Nampo Shipyard Complex along North Korea’s west coast. The new ship was visible and positioned pierside alongside construction equipment.
Analysts with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank that first published the images, identified the warship as a guided missile frigate sitting in a floating dry dock. Two cranes, parts, equipment, and supplies can be seen next to the boat.
Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jennifer Jun, two CSIS analysts, wrote in their Beyond the Parallel blog post last week that the frigate was going through a “fitting out” process. Internal construction is completed during this phase, and equipment is installed before the warship is handed over to North Korea’s navy.
The analysts said that the frigate is covered with netting to limit overhead observation; North Korea has long been sensitive to foreign reconnaissance and surveillance.
The netting over the new frigate prevents detailed measuring; however, the analysts assessed the warship is around 140 meters (460 feet) long, “making it the largest warship manufactured in North Korea.” It is around 40 feet shorter than the US Navy’s Constellation-class frigates, the first of which is under construction.
Other analysts have said the frigate, reportedly one of two in the class that are under construction, seems capable of carrying a vertical launch system, a collection of tubes that hold missiles. This would be a new attribute for North Korean ships, giving the warships the power to fire anti-ship, land-attack, or surface-to-air missiles.
VLS cells are capabilities available in more modern navies. For instance, American Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers are equipped with up to 96 launching tubes, lending them more firepower on the move. US cruisers hold even more.
Another April 6 satellite image, captured by Planet Labs and obtained by BI, shows the frigate from a different angle. The new satellite images come several months after North Korean state media outlet KCTV published photos of the North Korean leader inspecting a vessel under construction in December. Kim has visited the Nampo shipyard several more times since then. It is unclear how far away the frigate is from becoming fully operational.
In recent years, North Korea has been looking to build up its military and modernize its navy, especially its submarine force. The country’s navy unveiled a new missile submarine two years ago.
According to a 2021 US Defense Intelligence Agency report, North Korea’s navy is a 60,000-person force that consists of around 400 patrol ships, 260 amphibious landing craft, 70 diesel-electric submarines, and 20 minelaying vessels.
The DIA classifies North Korea’s large but dated navy as “primarily a coastal force” that is unable to operate at long distances beyond the peninsula or project power outside of the region. The report said Pyongyang has naval shipyards on both coasts, but these facilities do not produce very often due to insufficient resources.
CNN, which also reported the satellite images, noted that the new frigate appears to be more than twice the size of anything else in the North Korean fleet.
Joseph Dempsey, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a UK think tank, said that North Korean officials have placed more emphasis on growing the shipbuilding industry while strengthening the country’s navy.
While there is a clear need to modernize the navy, Dempsey wrote in a January blog post, “the rationale for investing in large surface combatants is more questionable, as North Korea demonstrates little requirement or ambition for naval power projection or the creation of a credible blue-water capability.”
