Satellite images reveal North Korean warship building activity

North Korea is building what appears to be its largest domestically produced warship, a new guided missile frigate, at its Nampo Naval Shipyard, according to a report from a U.S. think tank on Tuesday.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said satellite imagery taken on Sunday shows the ship under construction on a floating dry dock on the country’s west coast. The vessel, mostly covered with camouflage netting, is estimated to be about 140 meters (459 feet) long. If confirmed, it would be the largest warship North Korea has ever built.

The report, released by CSIS’s “Beyond Parallel” project, states the ship is in the outfitting phase — the final stage before delivery — near a recently refurbished quay. The dry dock measures around 120 meters. Two tower cranes and various materials and components are staged nearby to support ongoing work.

Guided missile frigates are multipurpose warships equipped for air defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine missions. Despite limited visibility, CSIS analysts believe the ship’s dimensions and structure suggest it may be the same vessel North Korean leader 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,” read the CSIS report. “If the frigate is equipped with helicopters, it would only be the second time the Korean People’s Navy has done so.”

CSIS senior fellow Joseph Bermudez and researcher Jennifer Jun authored the report.

BY BAE JAE-SUNG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]