Footage Shows North Korean Destroyer Setting Global Record Firing 12 Cruise Missile Salvo During Exercise

Footage released by the state run Korean Central News Agency has shown the Korean People’s Army Navy’s new Choe Hyon class destroyer, the Kang Kon, launching the largest salvo of cruise missiles ever seen in a peacetime exercises, with consecutive launches of 12 missiles from its vertical launch system. The launches were conducted as part of the most comprehensive known naval weapons trial in the history of the North Korean surface fleet, which included an evaluation of the ship’s broader combat systems. Live-fire testing of the ship’s main deck gun, automatic cannons, and onboard electronic warfare systems were a part of this evaluation. The Kang Kon is the second destroyer of its class, and was launched in June 2025 following the first ship of the class, the Choe Hyon, which was launched two months prior. 

The cruise missile launches from the Kang Kon are particularly provide the latest of multiple indications that the Korean People’s Army Navy intends its destroyers to serve as long-range precision strike platforms, among other roles including air defence, anti-submarine warfare and anti-shipping platforms. The Korean People’s Army has steadily expanded its family of strategic cruise missiles over recent years, developing systems capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads from a wide range of ground, surface, and submarine launch platforms. This has complemented the country’s longstanding standing as a world leading ballistic missile developer, with unconfirmed reports indicating that air launched cruise missiles have also been brought into service onboard the country’s ageing H-5 bombers. 

While a launch of twelve long range precision strike cruise missiles by the U.S. Navy would cost close to $40 million, the considerable purchasing power advantages which North Korea’s defence sector enjoys means the salvo launched by the Kang Kon is expected to cost closer to $10 million, with some estimates being significantly lower. The country’s destroyer programs are expected to provide a considerable boost to cruise missile production, with the first two Choe Hyon class destroyers integrating 74 vertical launch cells, close to half of which are expected to accommodate cruise missiles, while future ships of the class are likely to integrate close to 90 cells. While Choe Hyon class ships have displacements of 5,000 tons, it was revealed in March 2026 that a larger class of 8,000 ton destroyers was under development, while in early June a 10,000 ton destroyer class was announced. These future heavier destroyers will integrate significantly larger arsenals.

North Korea is set to maintain the second highest rate of destroyer construction in the world behind China, and is projected to allow it to overtake Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and possibly India in the size of its destroyer fleet by 2032. Shipyards supplying the U.S. Navy, by contrast, have averaged an output of 1.6 destroyers annually. The North Korean destroyer programs’ combination of sophistication and a large production scale has the potential to significantly alter the balance of power at sea in the Pacific, complementing advances in ground-based missile capabilities by providing a means of delivering precision cruise missile strikes on U.S. Armed Forces facilities across much of the Pacific. This could include the ability to threaten key targets on the U.S. mainland. The ships’ advanced multi-layered air defence and hypersonic anti-shipping capabilities also have the potential to be transformative, and have been demonstrated multiple times during previous exercises. 

Despite the tremendous scale of the firepower demonstrated by the Kang Kon, the destroyer has yet to enter service. The tests were personally observed by the chairman of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un, who subsequently ordered that all remaining acceptance trials be completed before the ship becomes operational within the next two months. The Kang Kon, was confirmed on June 6 to have begun its maiden sea trials, after which the Navy on June 23 brought its sister ship the Choe Hyon into active service. The program has demonstrated significant expertise in naval architecture, propulsion systems, electronics integration, weapons management, and radar technology, with the Choe Hyon class’ capabilities assessed to far exceed those of Russian or European destroyer types, placing them in many respects on par with Chinese, U.S., South Korean and Japanese destroyers.