North Korean leader says restoration of new vessel named Kang Kon has not delayed Pyongyang’s bid to boost naval power.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to build more warships and deploy them to the Pacific Ocean, as he officiated at the relaunching of a destroyer that partially sank during its inauguration last month, state media reports.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that Kim presided over the ceremony for the 5,000-tonne destroyer at the Rajin shipyard in the country’s far north. The ship has been named Kang Kon after a senior North Korean military official who was killed in action during the Korean War.
In a speech at the ceremony on Thursday, Kim was quoted as saying that repairs to the destroyer “had not delayed” North Korea’s attempts to enhance naval power.
“In two weeks’ time, the vessel was brought upright safely and set afloat, accomplishing its complete restoration today as planned,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
