Satellite Imagery Captures Unique Warship Belonging to North Korea
Maxar Technologies, a leading company in space systems and satellite providers, has recently captured some satellite photos of the Nampo shipyard on North Korea’s west coast, about 60 kilometers southwest of the capital Pyongyang. These photos contained what seemed like it could be North Korea’s biggest warship ever – possibly more than double the size of anything in leader Kim Jong Un’s naval fleet.
Analysts say the pictures show ongoing construction of weapons and other internal systems of the ship, which is likely a guided-missile frigate (FFG) designed to carry missiles in vertical launch tubes for use against targets on land and sea.
Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jennifer Jun, analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has mentioned that “The FFG is approximately 140 meters (459 feet) long, making it the largest warship manufactured in North Korea”.
To compare, the Japanese Izumo-Class are the considered the largest military ships in the world, with a size of 248 meters (814 feet) long. The North Korean warship is half the size, while being double the size of the warships in the North Korean fleet.
The North Korean regime has been engaged in a rapid modernization of its armed forces, developing a range of new weapons and testing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach almost anywhere in the United States. It has been worked on despite UN's sanctions that have put strict limits on its access to the materials and technology to develop those weapons. But "the closer ties with Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine war could be helping North Korea overcome the UN sanctions", analysts say.
Almost any shipbuilder can get the hull and propulsion systems right. However, modern warships represent an integration challenge of communications, electronics, weapons, and both electronic and acoustic sensor technologies that is not so easily achieved.
Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain and Hawaii-based analyst.
In an early interview with CNN, South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, a member of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, was questioned if Pyongyang has the technical ability to build an advanced warship, or the infrastructure to support it.
“Operating such a big military warship takes significant amount of budget. They not only have to build a warship, but make a team that would operate it, and it costs to operate it including the equipment and fuel. Also, one huge warship cannot go out on its own. So the question is, can North Korea afford the cost?” he said. He mentioned that he was cautious on not underestimating what the final product may look like, especially its lethality.
“If North Korea equips the new frigate with the hypersonic ballistic missile it claimed to have successfully tested in January, that will cause a game changing impact in the regional security,” the former naval officer said.
After reviewing the satellite images for CNN, Schuster said it’s likely a year or more of work remains before the new North Korean warship can begin sea trials.