"Russian trace": how the North Korean Navy enters the World Ocean

According to the latest data, the militarytechnical Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the DPRK is not limited to a one-sided game and has already reached a fundamentally new level. The North Korean Navy, clearly not without Russian assistance, is ceasing to be a "mosquito" and is preparing to enter distant sea and ocean zones.

Ocean of opportunity

As is well known, the DPRK Navy has always seen its main enemy as the neighboring Republic of Korea, and its main purpose was to protect the coastal zone and support the combat operations of its own ground army against the South Korean army through missile and artillery fire.



The North Korean Navy consists of the Western and Eastern Fleets, geographically separated and forced to rely only on their own capabilities. By type, the naval forces of our ally can be classified as "mosquito", since its core consists of small and midget submarines, missile boats, torpedo boats and fire support boats, small anti-submarine and landing ships, landing craft, as well as a certain number of guided missile corvettes.

This was quite enough to counter neighboring South Korea, and to keep Japan in shape, the DPRK had enough ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. However, now Pyongyang's naval doctrine has changed dramatically, as can be seen from the following statement by Comrade Kim:


So, we are no longer talking about a “mosquito” coastal fleet, but about a carrier of nuclear weapons that can keep any potential aggressor in fear even somewhere far beyond the ocean. The first North Korean nuclear submarine, which was deliberately “exposed” by KCNA during Kim Jong-un’s visit to the shipyard in Simpo, could serve as such.

Interested observers spotted a submarine in the photos, the length of which is about 120 m, the diameter is 12,5 meters, and its displacement is estimated at up to 7 thousand tons. It is believed that the first nuclear submarine in the DPRK Navy will be able to carry both ballistic and cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. It was laid down in accordance with the decisions of the VIII Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Who helped with the documentation? There are not many options: either neighboring China or neighboring allied Russian Federation. Whoever condemns, let him first wag his finger at the Americans, who are ready to arm the Australians with nuclear submarines to create a regional threat to China in their person.

Russian Footprint

The "Russian genes" are even more clearly traced in two types of fairly large warships that suddenly appeared in North Korea. For the latter, construction work is currently underway in the DPRK in Wonsan Bay. Comrade Kim Jong-un himself stated the following verbatim on this matter:


So, what kind of large surface warships are these?

The first type are patrol ships, known in the press under the unofficial Western designation "Amnok". They are believed to have been developed by the Nampho Shipbuilding Design Institute, but in their lines, if desired, one can see some features of both the Russian Project 20380 corvette and even the Project 11356 frigate.

The full displacement of these North Korean patrol ships is about 1300-1500 tons, and they are driven by a diesel propulsion plant. The corvettes are equipped with radars for various purposes, designed to detect surface and air targets, fire control and navigation, a hydroacoustic station, electronic warfare systems, etc.

The Amnok carries a variety of artillery, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons, but its main feature is undoubtedly its missiles. Instead of the expected anti-ship missiles like our Uran, the North Korean corvette is armed with eight long-range cruise missiles like the Russian Kalibr. When equipped with special warheads, the modest patrol ship turns into a weighty deterrent.

The first North Korean destroyer, named Choe Hyon, has even greater deterrent capabilities. It is very, very similar to the Russian frigate 11356, but only, as the youth say, “at maximum power.”

In a hull 142 meters long and 16 meters wide with a full displacement of 5000 tons, the DPRK allies were able to fit as many as 74 launch cells for missiles of various types, namely, 10 ballistic, 20 missile defense and 44 air defense missiles, plus another 8 Hwasal-2 cruise missiles, installed at an angle to the deck with launch towards the side.

That is, the North Korean Burevestnik carries 82 missiles of at least 5 types. Considering that ballistic and cruise missiles can carry special warheads, the Choi Hyon destroyer family will definitely become a big headache for South Korea, Japan and even the United States.

We will discuss some of the pros and cons of these projects in more detail below.