Is North Korea building its biggest and most advanced warship yet?

Is North Korea building its most advanced warship?

That’s what new satellite photos suggest.

The ship appears to be under construction at North Korea’s Nampo shipyard – which is around 37 kilometres southwest of the capital Pyongyang.

But what do we know about the warship? What do experts say?

Let’s take a closer look:

What do we know?

As per CNN, the pictures were taken by independent satellite providers Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs.

Korea Joongang Daily reported that the ship is under construction on a floating dry dock of around 120 metres.

It appears to be in the outfitting phase — which is the last stage before delivery.

The images dated April 6 revealed that the ship is around 140 metres (459 feet long) – which would make it double the size of any current ship in North Korea’s navy.

This would make the ship compare favourably to the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (505 feet) and its Constellation-class frigates (496 feet) – which are currently being built.

The ship is likely a guided-missile frigate (FFG), as per the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

Frigates are multipurpose warships equipped for air defence, anti-ship and anti-submarine missions, as per Korea Joongang Daily

“The FFG is approximately 140 meters (459 feet) long, making it the largest warship manufactured in North Korea,” an analysis by Joseph Bermudez Jr and Jennifer Jun at the Center for Strategic and International Studies stated.

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The length of the construction hall is around  175 meters, as per 38North.org.

Since the ship is covered in camouflage, its precise details cannot be confirmed.

However, the length of the ship and the construction means the vessel is likely to have a helipad and hangar.

A crane near the ship’s bow suggests work is nearing completion on the anchor winch mechanism, sonar subsystem, or even a deck gun.

CSIS experts believe the ship could be the same one that Kim Jong-un inspected in early March.

“It is unclear whether the new vessel is one of the two helicopter frigates (FFH) that North Korea declared it was manufacturing to the International Maritime Organization in 2023,” the CSIS report states. “If the frigate is equipped with helicopters, it would only be the second time the Korean People’s Navy has done so.”

As per MSN, the North Korean Navy has around 400 patrol boats and 70 submarines.

However, many of them are in old and small.

What do experts say?

MSN quoted experts as saying the ship is intended to carry missiles in vertical launch systems.

It will be able to hit targets on land and sea.

Experts are unsurprised by the existence of the warship.

They point the finger at Russia for helping North Korea.

Kim Duk-ki, a retired South Korean admiral, told CNN that Moscow may be aiding North Korea will technology for the vessel’s missile systems.

But others are less concerned.

Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain and Hawaii-based analyst told the outlet that getting the hull and propulsion system right is the easy part.

“However, modern warships represent an integration challenge of communications, electronics, weapons, and both electronic and acoustic sensor technologies” which is not so easily achieved, Schuster added.

Schuster said the work is likely to take over a year.

“This ship’s construction is being delayed by the lack of the superstructure, sensor and weapons systems intended for installation,” Schuster added.

But Kim offered a final word of warning.

“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,” Kim told the outlet_._

With inputs from agencies