Pyongyang, April 26 (KCNA) -- The tremendous strength of Juche Korea, which confidently attains the phased goals for building a rich country with a strong army through the first arduous journey and vigorous stride of great pioneering along the milestone of victory indicated by the ever-victorious Workers' Party of Korea, is ushering in a grand new era of an advanced maritime power while powerfully reaching out to the vast ocean.

A new entity has emerged to firmly guarantee the maritime sovereignty of the DPRK, demonstrating the prestige of a powerful country rising bravely despite all difficulties, the irresistible might of the indomitable and strong Korean people and the modernity of the Juche-oriented naval force making rapid progress.

The birth of the new-type multipurpose destroyer, which is an ensemble of the state economy and conglomerate of defence technology for self-defence and equipped with the powerful cutting-edge strike weapon systems of Korean style which do not allow comparison, is a brilliant fruition of the iron faith, will and outstanding leadership of the great Comrade Kim Jong Un who indicated the path for rapidly developing the naval force of the DPRK into the strong treasured sword for defending justice and peace and a service equipped with the comprehensive fighting power with nuclear weapons as the main axis and is dynamically steering the rejuvenation of the warship industry, and a valuable victory won by the strong aspiration and desire and indomitable advance of the Korean people to outpace the world with the conviction in their own strength and courageous struggle.

A ceremony of launching the newly-built destroyer was held with splendor at the Nampho Dockyard on April 25, the significant founding anniversary of the first armed forces of the Korean revolution, in the presence of Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Present at the ceremony were senior Party, government and military officials, workers of the Nampho Dockyard, officials and researchers in the field of warship industry who contributed to building the destroyer, officers and men of the Navy of the Korean People's Army, discharged navy generals, teaching staff and students of Kim Jong Suk Naval University, commanding officers of the services and corps of the KPA and leading officials of ministries and national agencies.

The venue of the ceremony was full of the ardent reverence for the great Party Central Committee which has firmly consolidated the absolute might and irreversible strength of the DPRK's armed forces by dynamically leading the rapid development of the revolution in national defence industry for the prosperity of our country and its long-term development and fully realized the centuries-old desire of the Korean people to have the strongest naval force.

The guard of honor of the KPA Navy solemnly lined up waiting for the moment of glory.

When the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un arrived at the venue of the ceremony, all the participants broke into enthusiastic cheers looking up to the great revolutionary and ever-victorious iron-willed brilliant commander who is vigorously ushering in a new era of building a rich country with a strong army, bringing the dignity and prestige of our state and people onto the highest peak of the century with his outstanding revolutionary idea, matchless pluck and persevering devotion.

There was a ceremony of greeting the head of state.

Kim Jong Un reviewed the colors of honor of the KPA Navy and the guard of honor.

He was courteously greeted by Admiral Kim Myong Sik, commander of the KPA Navy, and other major commanding officers of the Navy and commanding officers of the East and West Sea Fleets of the Navy and their affiliated underwater and water-surface warship squadrons with boundless reverence for him.

There was a march-past of the guard of honor of the KPA Navy.

Kim Jong Un took the platform followed by leading officials of the Party, government and military, the commander of the Navy, commanders of the East and West Sea Fleets of the Navy, the manager of the Nampho Dockyard and others.

Officials of the Party Central Committee, chief secretaries of provincial committees of the WPK, officials, persons of merit and labor innovators who contributed to the building of the warship and commanding officers of the services and corps of the KPA took the reserved seats.

The national anthem of the DPRK was solemnly played.

Jo Chun Ryong, secretary of the Central Committee of the WPK, made a memorial speech.

The 5 000-tonnage destroyer, equipped with the most powerful weapons, built by the workers in the field of warship industry, is to record the sacred new name of the defender in the blue sea of the country, he said, adding that it is a very encouraging reality and an event that made decisive progress in the course of strengthening naval capacities that we have built the modern destroyer within 400-odd days perfectly with our own strength and technology.

The new-type destroyer, which was imposingly born as a creation symbolizing the strength and spirit of Korea, is the fruition of the great patriotic idea of Kim Jong Un and his will to build a rich country with a strong army and a precious entity in which every meter of the hull and every equipment is associated with the sacred responsibility for the revolution.

The speaker said that today came to be recorded not only as a day when a new origin of the warship industry was opened but also as a day when a new start was made by the workers and officials of the munitions industry of the DPRK, adding that the heyday of the DPRK Navy will brightly be brought about and the historic picture of the DPRK's arms demonstrating their might as the treasured sword for defending justice and peace will continuously be opened up as the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un leads our struggle in the van.

Yun Chi Gol, manager of the Nampho Dockyard, made a reply speech.

He proudly reported that the workers of the Nampho Dockyard are prepared for presenting the first new generation destroyer of the Republic to the Ninth Congress of the WPK as a gift of patriotic loyalty by honorably implementing the decision of the Eleventh Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK on building modern destroyer.

The latest warship is a precious product of the revolution in warship industry rose up by the iron faith, will and outstanding strategy of Kim Jong Un with the ambition to build our country into an advanced maritime power, not merely by a buoyancy of nature, he said, adding that in the course of warship building the way of thinking and manner of work of officials and employees have been changed, strong technical ranks and skilled workers built up and scientific and advanced warship building technology and processes established.

He solemnly pledged that the Nampho Dockyard would become the pacemaker and engine of the revolution of the warship industry in the new era faithfully upholding the strategic plan of the Party Central Committee with practice and thus glorify forever the honor of the group of revolutionary industry by taking the core position of the development of the shipbuilding industry in the DPRK and perfectly carrying out any warship building task entrusted by the Party to the dockyard.

Pak Jong Chon announced a written order of the Central Military Commission of the WPK on the grading regulations, name and number of the new-type multipurpose destroyer and conveyed it to the commander of the East Sea Fleet of the KPA Navy.

According to the order of the Central Military Commission of the WPK signed by Kim Jong Un , the newly built new-type 5 000-tonnage multipurpose destroyer was graded and classified as the Choe Hyon-class and named after anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter Choe Hyon, a model military activist possessed of boundless loyalty to the leader, a veteran of the armed forces of the DPRK and a veteran general.

Kim Jong Un conferred the ensign of destroyer Choe Hyon on the commanding officers of the East Sea Fleet of the KPA Navy.

Vice-Admiral Pak Kwang Sop, commander of the East Sea Fleet, made a speech of pledge.

Referring to the honor of our Navy of clearly recording in the history of army building its true appearance of a service as a blueprint, suited to the prestige of a military power, he said that the earnest desire for the strongest armed forces to overwhelmingly control the naval supremacy of the arrogant imperialist pirates was realized in the glorious era of holding Kim Jong Un in high esteem.

Saying that the position of our navy will be far in the future five years and ten years after today when the era of the great Kim Jong Un -style fleet building started, he extended warm gratitude and militant salute to Kim Jong Un who is ushering in the greatest heyday of strengthening the navy and to the heroic workers of the dockyard and the fields concerned that are upholding the Party's grand plan for building the naval forces with ardent loyalty and valuable struggle in the name of all the officers and men of the navy.

He solemnly pledged to fully demonstrate the honor of the fleet which took the most responsible battlefield for the great revolutionary cause of defending the country by making all efforts to bolster up the combat capability of the warship and round off the war preparations of the fleet and preparing to be a navy which smashes the enemy unconditionally in every battle, on the honor of the army of the WPK and seaman of the DPRK.

No Kwang Chol, minister of National Defence of the DPRK, cut the launching rope in token of the launching ceremony of the destroyer.

Amid the sound of the warship whistle at the naval port, a powerful entity revealed its magnificent appearance in the sea of the country announcing the advent of a new era of modernization of the navy. And confetti and colored tapes were poured out, fireworks were set off and balloons flew up, reflecting the excitement and joy of this historic moment.

Kim Jong Un mounted the destroyer.

The warship received the honor of being first reviewed by the head of state.

After receiving the salute of the captain, Kim Jong Un met with seamen and gave them warm and combat encouragement, going round the stem and quarter deck of the warship.

The memorial image of anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter Choe Hyon in relief was unveiled on the destroyer.

Kim Jong Un placed a flower before the memorial image of Choe Hyon in relief and paid high tribute to him.

Kim Jong Un said that the absolute loyalty to the leader and the spirit of unconditionally implementing the orders and instructions of the leader constitute the core of the revolutionary traits and military temperament of Choe Hyon, adding that the sea of the country will remain unfazed and the ever-victorious tradition will continuously be carried forward when the reputation and noble soul of the veteran general whom the two formidable imperialist enemies trembled only with his name become the symbol of invincibility and militant banner of our navy.

Kim Jong Un got off the warship and met the meritorious persons of the Nampho Dockyard who contributed to the building of the destroyer.

He highly appreciated that the historic event which can be called a new birth of the Juche-oriented navy could be brought about thanks to the patriotic and inexhaustible efforts and enthusiasm of the workers, scientists and technicians of the Nampho Dockyard who are upholding the strategic line and policies on building up the national defence clarified by the WPK with absolute loyalty and devoted efforts.

The workers, scientists and technicians in the field of warship industry raised enthusiastic cheers, extending the greatest glory to Kim Jong Un who placed them at the vanguard of accomplishing the sacred cause of radically and by leaps and bounds strengthening the naval forces of the DPRK to suit the national prestige and status of a powerful country and is ushered in a new era of the rejuvenation of warship industry with his energetic leadership.

He awarded commemoration copper coins to the commanding officers and officers of the destroyer, wishing the destroyer Choe Hyon a distinguished service and boundless glory.

Kim Jong Un made a historic speech on the occasion of the ceremony of launching the destroyer.

Expressing the historic significance and deep emotion of declaring the launching of the new generation multipurpose attack destroyer No. 1, which is essential for building up the strength for thoroughly defending the maritime sovereignty of the DPRK and serves as an important starting point on the road towards advanced maritime power, on April 25, the birthday of the first revolutionary armed forces of Korea, Kim Jong Un extended militant encouragement to the workers, technicians and officials of the Nampho Dockyard who successfully built the new-type destroyer true to the Party's line of strengthening the naval forces, and to the scientists, technicians and workers in the field of the shipbuilding industry who are struggling as the main force of the revolution in warship industry in the new era.

After making a stern analysis of the situation in the vicinity which poses a very serious threat to the security environment of the DPRK, he said that the strength to launch aggression is directly proportional to the strength to prevent aggression, and set forth in detail the plan of the WPK to radically bolster up the naval combat power in line with the justness and necessity of the possession of the pelagic fleet, the prerequisite for national security and the world trend of developing the naval force and the ways for its realization.

His speech is an immortal great programme which is of great theoretical and practical significance in leading the revolution in the warship industry in the new era to a steady upsurge and remarkably strengthening the DPRK Navy into a core service for national defence and a component of nuclear war deterrent.

When Kim Jong Un finished his commemorative speech, all the participants broke into the thunderous cheers of "Hurrah!" out of boundless excitement and enthusiasm of loyalty which resounded into the vast sea endlessly.

Kim Jong Un had a significant photo session with all the commanding officers and seamen of the destroyer Choe Hyon against the background of the destroyer.

He expressed great expectation and conviction that all the seamen of the destroyer would firmly carry forward the indomitable faith and tradition of victory cherished by the pioneering generation of the Korean revolution and thus become the brave warriors of the sea fully guaranteeing the prosperity of the country and the well-being and happiness of the people by force of arms and create a new legendary tale of heroes of the Juche-oriented navy.

All the commanding officers and seamen of the destroyer made a firm pledge to enhance the reputation as the matchless warship demonstrating the invincible valour in defending the territorial waters of the country, looking up to the great brilliant commander who gave them the strongest treasured sword unprecedented in the naval force of the country and personally mounted the warship to wish distinguished military service and instilled the spirit of sure victory into them.

Kim Jong Un had a photo session with officials and persons of merit of the dockyard and institute who made contributions to building the destroyer.

On the same day, there were a banquet given by the KPA Navy with sincerity and a congratulatory performance by national-level art troupes in commemoration of the ceremony of launching the new-type multipurpose destroyer.

After the performance, Kim Jong Un met discharged navy generals.

Highly appreciating the feats performed by the generals of the past days who had long served the navy's important posts and recorded the immortal exploits in the history of the navy with boundless self-sacrificing spirit and indomitable mettle, he said that their great spirit should be invariably carried forward as the eternal soul of defence.

Kim Jong Un who is making ceaseless journey of devoted efforts for the accelerated growth of the national defence capability and the people's well-being, was courteously seen off by the leading officials of the Nampho Dockyard and discharged navy generals.

The ceremony of launching the new-type multipurpose destroyer held in the presence of Kim Jong Un will shine forever in history as an auspicious event heralding the new birth of the DPRK Navy and a great event that powerfully demonstrated to the whole world the spirit of advance and sure victory of our state and people dynamically advancing toward the grand goal of building an advanced maritime power. -0-

www.kcna.kp (2025.04.26.)