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North Korea’s Kim launches second nuclear destroyer as allied drills start

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By PressNewsAgency

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un commissioned his second naval destroyer and called for building a more reliable nuclear deterrent, state media reported on Monday, as the US, South Korea and Japan began a trilateral military exercise he views as a security threat.
The development comes as North Korea dials up pressure on the US after rebuffing President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back a major military drill with South Korea in a conciliatory step towards Kim. Observers say North Korea wants to wrest bigger US concessions.
The destroyer Kang Kon was commissioned into North Korea’s navy in the eastern port city of Wonsan on Sunday at a ceremony attended by Kim and teenage daughter Ju-ae, whom South Korea’s spy service calls his likely heir. Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) photos showed the girl dressed in a white dress and blazer walking alongside her father on a red carpet, touring the warship and posing with sailors together.

The ship and the Choe Hyon, commissioned in June, are both 5,000-tonne destroyers equipped with nuclear-capable missiles, making them North Korea’s most advanced warships.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter, Ju-ae, watch the commissioning of the Kang Kon at Wonsan Port on Sunday. Photo: KCNA / AFP

In a speech at the ceremony, Kim said the destroyers’ back-to-back commissioning 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.

“Concerns of the enemies will be surely 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 defence and war deterrence.”

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