Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of sea-to-surface ‘strategic cruise missiles’ from country’s new naval destroyer.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of “strategic cruise missiles” from a new 5,000-tonne naval destroyer before the vessel’s official commissioning, according to state media.

Kim supervised the launch of sea-to-surface missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon on Wednesday, assessing the test as a “core” element of the new warship’s capabilities, which he described as a “new symbol of sea defence” for his country.

Calling for the production of more warships of a similar class or better, Kim said his navy’s adoption of nuclear weapons was making progress.

“Our Navy’s forces for attacking from under and above water will grow rapidly. The arming of the Navy with nuclear weapons is making satisfactory progress,” Kim said at the Nampo Shipyard in the west of the country, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“All these successes constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century,” he said.

South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency noted that North Korea uses references to “strategic” weapons to indicate they could have nuclear capabilities.

According to KCNA, over a two-day visit to the shipyard, spanning Tuesday and Wednesday, Kim inspected the Choe Hyon, the lead vessel in a new series of 5,000-tonne “Choe Hyon-class” destroyers currently under construction in North Korea.

‘Wage a more active and persistent struggle’

In May 2025, North Korea’s ambitious naval modernisation programme suffered a major setback when a second Choe Hyon-class destroyer capsized during a botched side-launch ceremony at Chongjin Shipyard, an incident witnessed by the Korean leader.

Later, and in a rare admission of failure, KCNA reported that a launch mechanism malfunction caused the stern of the 5,000-tonne destroyer to slide prematurely into the water. The accident crushed parts of the hull and left the bow stranded on the shipway.

At the time, Kim characterised the launch failure as a “criminal act”, blaming the incident on “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” across multiple state institutions.

This week’s missile tests come after the North Korean leader pledged in late February to lift living standards as he opened a rare congress of the governing Workers’ Party, held once every five years.

Kim told the congress that the ruling party was “faced with heavy and urgent historic tasks of boosting economic construction and the people’s standard of living”.

“This requires us to wage a more active and persistent struggle without allowing even a moment’s standstill or stagnation,” he said.

North Korea has prioritised nuclear weapons development and military strength above all else, claiming that it must be militarily strong to resist pressure from the United States and its ally, South Korea.

Since taking power in late 2011, Kim has maintained the military as a core priority while simultaneously emphasising economic strengthening to address the country’s chronic impoverishment.

Kim focuses on improving economic activity in opening speech at Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

North Korea has kicked off a rare party congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, held once every five years, that will see the leadership in Pyongyang set major policy goals in defence, diplomacy and the economy, state media reports.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday that the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) was under way, marking the start of the country’s most consequential political event since 2021.

“The Ninth Congress of the WPK opened with splendour in Pyongyang, the capital city of the revolution,” KCNA said, reporting that the high-level meeting started on Thursday and observers say it is expected to run for several days.

South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency said the gathering will be closely followed for any signs regarding North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons or overtures towards the administrations in Seoul and the United States, which the North considers its chief foes.

Yonhap reports that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, made no mention of relations with either South Korea or the US in his opening speech to the congress on Thursday and, instead, focused on boosting the country’s economy.

“Ahead of our party are heavy and urgent tasks of advancing economic development and improving people’s livelihoods, and transforming all aspects of social life in the country as quickly as possible,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

While the true state of North Korea’s often struggling economy is hard to gauge, The Associated Press news agency reports that outside experts suggest the country has seen a gradual recovery in economic activity, helped by a post-COVID boost in trade with China and the export of weapons to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Several thousand North Korean troops have fought on Moscow’s side against Ukraine, and Pyongyang is believed to have exported large amounts of ammunition to help the Russian invasion of its neighbour.

North Korea’s ‘biggest enemy’

South Korea’s spy agency said last week it was monitoring the congress for any sign that Kim will officially designate his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his potential successor, formalising her position as heir apparent in a fourth-generation succession of the Kim family as North Korea’s leaders.

At the previous party congress five years ago, Kim declared that the US was his nation’s “biggest enemy”, the AFP news agency reports, and there is deep interest in whether the North Korean leader will soften his rhetoric – or double down – at this year’s congress, particularly amid the US presidency of Donald Trump.

Trump – who met Kim in 2019 when he briefly stepped foot into North Korea to shake Kim’s hand and pose for photos – said during a tour of Asia late last year that he was “100 percent” open to meeting Kim again.

So far, Kim has demurred on Trump’s overtures to meet again.

Observers of North Korean politics are reported to be scouring satellite imagery for any signs of the vast military parades that have accompanied previous congress meetings in Pyongyang.

Such parades will be closely watched for signs of a shift in North Korea’s weapons capabilities, as the country has used previous processions to show off its newest and most advanced weapons.

Kim held a ceremony on Thursday to unveil the deployment of 50 new launch vehicles for nuclear-capable short-range missiles as the congress kicked off.

According to Yonhap, the congress brings together some 5,000 party representatives from across the country, including 200 senior officials from the WPK’s headquarters. More than 4,700 officials from regional and industrial sectors are also in attendance.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has showcased a newly constructed residential street for families of soldiers who have died fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to state media.

Intelligence agencies from South Korea and Western nations have reported that North Korea has dispatched thousands of soldiers to fight for Russia, and Seoul estimated they have suffered 2,000 casualties.

Experts suggested North Korea receives financial aid, military technology and essential supplies from Russia in exchange for this support.

Its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photographs showing Kim touring the new homes on Saeppyol Street in Pyongyang with his daughter, Ju Ae, widely regarded as his heir apparent.

South Korea’s intelligence agency recently claimed she has been “designated as a successor”, citing her involvement in high-profile events with her father.

One image depicted families inspecting utilities in their new apartments.

“The new street has been built thanks to the ardent desire of our motherland, which wishes that … its excellent sons who defended the most sacred things by sacrificing their most valuable things will live forever,” Kim said in a speech released by KCNA.

Although Monday’s report did not mention Russia, Kim recently pledged to “unconditionally support” all policies and decisions made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Before their death, the heroic martyrs must have pictured in their mind’s eye their dear families living in the ever-prospering country,” he added.

The unveiling preceded the ruling Workers’ Party congress in Pyongyang, the nation’s most significant political event, scheduled this month. Observers are closely monitoring Kim’s announcements on foreign and domestic policy directions as well as whether Ju Ae will be granted any official party titles.

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the AFP news agency that the timing of the street inauguration represents a “highly calculated political move to justify its soldier deployment” before the party congress.

“It visualises the state providing tangible compensation to the families of fallen soldiers … as a symbolic showcase,” he said.

Little is known about Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, who made her first public appearance in 2022 but appears set to be her father’s successor.

South Korea’s spy agency believes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to designate his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor, increasing the agency’s earlier assessment of the teenager being the “most likely successor”.

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul informed legislators of the news during a closed-door briefing on Thursday, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency. Their intelligence agency’s findings were later shared with the media by South Korean politicians Park Seon-won and Lee Seong-gwon.

“Kim Ju Ae’s presence continues to be highlighted at events such as the recent Armed Forces Day ceremony and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and there are even signs that she is expressing opinions on some policies,” Lee told reporters, according to Yonhap.

“We believe that she has now entered the succession selection stage,” Lee said.

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun is considered one of the most important places in North Korea as the final resting place of the country’s Great Leader Kim Il Sung and his son Dear Leader Kim Jong Il – the current Kim’s grandfather and father, and Ju Ae’s great-grandfather and grandfather.

Yonhap reports that if Ju Ae attends or receives a title at the ruling Workers’ Party congress later this month, a key political event that analysts believe will see major policy goals unveiled, speculation about her path to succession will “gain traction”.

Very little is known about Kim’s daughter, including her official age, though she is believed to still be in her teens.

Her first public appearance was in 2022 at the test launch of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile, and she has been photographed alongside her father at numerous events across the country since then.

In January, she was photographed by Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency attending the test launch of a large-calibre multiple-rocket launch system alongside her father.

She also travelled by armour-plated train with her father to Beijing in September to attend a military parade marking 80 years since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, where she would have mixed with both Chinese and Russian leaders.

Seoul’s spy agency also said that Kim is currently directing the development of a large submarine ‌that is likely capable of carrying up to 10 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and which may be designed to be powered by a ‌nuclear ‌reactor, according to the politicians Park and Lee.