SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un put his second naval destroyer into service and called for building a more reliable nuclear deterrent, state media reported Monday, as the United States, South Korea and Japan began a trilateral military exercise he views as a security threat.
The ship's commissioning comes as North Korea is dialing up pressure on the U.S. after rebuffing President Donald Trump's decision to scale back a major
military drill with South Korea in a conciliatory step toward Kim. Observers say North Korea wants to wrest bigger U.S. concessions.
The destroyer Kang Kon was commissioned into North Korea's navy in the eastern port city of Wonsan Sunday at a ceremony attended by Kim and his teenage daughter, whom South Korea’s spy service calls his likely heir. North Korean state media photos showed the girl in a white dress and blazer walking alongside her father on a red carpet, touring the warship and posing with sailors.
The ship and the Choe Hyon, which was put into service in June, are both 5,000-ton destroyers that state media said can carry various conventional and nuclear weapons. Considered North Korea’s biggest and most advanced warships, the two destroyers were likely built with Russian assistance, experts say. In July, North Korea said it test-fired nuclear-capable cruise missiles from the Kang Kon.
In a speech at the ceremony, Kim said the back-to-back warship additions instilled fear in the enemies as the nuclear armament of North Korea's navy made it possible to exercise its nuclear deterrent in a more diversified, practical manner.
“The enemies’ concerns will surely be deepened,” Kim said. "We must establish more clearly a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent, to put into practice the diverse and effective operation of our nuclear combat systems and further strengthen our military activities for maritime defense and war deterrence.”
After years of prioritizing ballistic missile development, Kim has increasingly turned his focus to modernize the navy, which he admitted in Sunday’s speech lacked warships befitting its mission until a few years ago. Outside experts said the North Korean destroyers’ weapons and radar systems would enhance its offensive and defensive capabilities.
Kim said North Korea is pursuing another “significant" naval advancement whose results would be unveiled in eight months. Many observers say the project could be related to Kim's stated goal of acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan kicked off on Monday their five-day Freedom Edge exercise near the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea's military said the exercise is defensive in nature and meant to enhance a joint response capability against North Korean nuclear threats and that it involves key maritime and aerial military assets from the three countries.
At the exercise’s opening ceremony at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, commander of the U.S. forces in Japan, said that Washington, Tokyo and Seoul “stand together on common interests, ready to preserve the peace and security we have built and defended for more than eight decades,” according to the U.S. Pacific Command.
The U.S. command said the exercise will be held in international waters and airspace off South Korea’s southern coast, as well as military installations and command posts in Japan and South Korea. Japan’s Joint Staff said about 560 Japanese troops will participate in the exercise.
Later on Monday, North Korean Defense Minister Kim Song Gi issued a statement criticizing the drills, accusing the U.S. and its Asian allies of attempting to provoke the North and warning that his country was capable of taking “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power.”
North Korea's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. last week of more clearly expressing its confrontational posture against the North. It cited the Freedom Edge exercise and reported comments by American officials that the U.S. remains committed to North Korea’s complete denuclearization.
On Aug. 21, the U.S. and South Korean militaries ended their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise six days earlier than originally planned, after Trump said he had ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the drill. Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, who views the drill as an invasion rehearsal.
But Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, shrugged off Trump's outreach, saying just shortening the drill won’t change its “provocative, aggressive nature.” North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, apparently delivering on its previous threat to respond to the U.S.-South Korean drill.
The North Korean leader has previously said he could return to talks if the U.S. drops its “hostile policy” against his country and respects what he calls the North's status as a nuclear state.
Kim and Trump's earlier diplomacy collapsed in 2019 due to disputes over how much economic benefits North Korea should get in return for a limited denuclearization step. Now, with his advancing nuclear program and deepened ties with Russia and China, experts say Kim has greater leverage than before.
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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
