North Korea building its biggest warship yet?

North Korea could be constructing its biggest warship ever, and it is likely to be a guided-missile frigate (FFG), equipped with advanced missile systems designed for multi-role naval operations, satellite images reveal.

The size of the warship is nearly twice the size of any warship that is part of North Korea's naval fleet, according to media reports. The news of the construction of such a huge warship comes even as Kim Jong Un is undertaking a military modernisation drive.

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

According to Joseph Dempsey, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the ship is likely to be a destroyer and the largest warship ever constructed in North Korea, reports NK Pro.

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The warship's design includes vertical launch systems (VLS) for launching missiles, and if reports are to be believed it could accommodate over 50 missiles, including anti-ship, air-defense, and land-attack cruise missiles.

According to CNN, North Korea is able to carry out construction despite the UN sanction on acquiring materials and technology for the development of weapons because of its ties with Russia.

A former naval officer has been quoted by CNN as saying that 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.

Defence