North Korea Just Overtook the U.S. in Destroyer Construction Rates

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics on X

North Korean shipyards have overtaken those of the United States in the construction of ocean-going surface combat ships, with the shipbuilding industry having launched two destroyers in 2025, and scheduled to launch two more every year for the next five years under the next Five Year Plan, bringing total numbers in the water to 12 by the end of 2030.

The U.S., by contrast, has been building Arleigh Burke class destroyers at rates of just 1.6 per year. While the contraction in U.S. production of surface warships has declined much more slowly than the contraction of the civilian shipbuilding industry, the fall in the number of surface combat ships, and in the total tonnage launched per year has nevertheless been tremendous. North Korea, by contrast, had negligible industry for producing modern service ships until the 2020s, with limited resources concentrated on the submarine fleet.

North Korean shipyards launched two Choe Hyon class destroyers in 2025, the first in April, with the program revolutionising the ability of the country's surface fleet to conduct far sea operations.The first two Choe Hyon class destroyers each integrate 74 vertical launch cells, compared to 96 on the latest variants of U.S. Navy Alreigh Burke class, although the gap is expected to narrow considerably on subsequent North Korean destroyers, following the recent confirmation of plans to remove their main guns and replace them with more missile launch cells. Chairman of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un earlier in March also confirmed that a larger 8,000 ton destroyer class is currently under development, and represents part of the procurement of 10 more destroyers scheduled over the next five years. These ships are not only 60 percent larger than the Choe Hyon class, but will also lack naval guns, meaning an outstandingly large missile carriage of well over 120 cells is expected.