Kim oversees warship weapons test-fire, eyes nukes for North Korea navy

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered navy vessels to be speedily armed with nuclear weapons, state media reported Wednesday, as Pyongyang conducted its first test-firing of a new warship weapons system.

This weekend, Pyongyang had unveiled its new warship, a 5,000-ton destroyer-class vessel named Choe Hyon, which some analysts said was likely to be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles.

Kim oversaw the first day of a two-day weapons test of the destroyer, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

He then ordered officials to work on "accelerating the nuclear armament of the navy", it added.

North Korea has previously said the vessel was equipped with the "most powerful weapons", and that it would "enter into operation early next year".

Experts have said that given its size, the warship is believed to carry both ship-to-surface and ship-to-air missiles.

KCNA said Tuesday's test was of "ship-to-ship tactical guided weapon, various kinds of ship-based automatic guns and smoke and electronic jamming guns," involving the newly unveiled vessel.

The news agency said Pyongyang also tested its "supersonic cruise missile, strategic cruise missile, anti-aircraft missile and 127 mm ship-based automatic gun" on Monday.

Kim said the country's ship-based firepower system was "effectively combined" with the "most powerful strike means including supersonic cruise missile, strategic cruise missile and tactical ballistic missile".

Seoul's defence ministry said it was "closely tracking and monitoring the North Korean military's shipbuilding and development trends," in cooperation with the United States.

Pyongyang's announcement came days after it confirmed for the first time it had deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow in its war in Ukraine.

Moscow also said Saturday that North Korean soldiers "provided significant assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces".

Some analysts say Pyongyang appears to have acquired certain weapons from Moscow to equip its warships, possibly in exchange for deploying troops.

"It seems that North Korea has recently imported several modern weapons from Russia," Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP.

The North has also "assembled them, and used them effectively to strengthen internal unity and boost military morale," he added.

- Kim at launch -

State media had reported Saturday on the launching of the Choe Hyon, showing images of Kim attending a ceremony with his daughter Ju Ae, considered by many experts as his likely successor.

In March, Kim inspected a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, asserting that "radically" boosting the navy was a key part of Pyongyang's defensive strategy.

At the time, Kim called for the modernisation of the country's surface and underwater naval forces, including the development of warships.

Pyongyang has claimed in previous years to be developing underwater nuclear attack drones, which could unleash a "radioactive tsunami", but analysts have questioned whether it actually has such a weapon.

Washington -- Seoul's key security ally -- has in recent years ramped up joint military exercises and increased the presence of strategic US assets, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine, in the region to deter the North.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US-South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion.

"North Korea's mention of its accelerated naval nuclear armament is presumed to refer to enhanced operational capabilities of tactical nuclear and strategic missiles by the fleet," said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

This week's test appears to highlight North Korea's assertion that its newly unveiled warship is capable of blue-water operations, he told AFP, referring to naval missions conducted far from a country's own coastal waters, often in open ocean areas.

600 N. Korean soldiers ‘killed fighting for Russia’

Around 600 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia against Ukraine have been killed and thousands more wounded, a Seoul lawmaker said Wednesday, after Pyongyang officially confirmed deploying troops to aid Moscow.

"So far, North Korean troop casualties are estimated at around 4,700, including approximately 600 deaths," MP Lee Seong-kweun, a member of parliament's intelligence committee, told reporters after a briefing by the country's spy agency.

North Korea confirmed for the first time Monday that it had deployed troops to Russia, with state news agency KCNA reporting Pyongyang's soldiers helped Moscow reclaim territory under Ukrainian control in the Russian border region of Kursk.

Moscow had separately confirmed the North's participation, after months of official silence from both countries, even as Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang of sending ever more troops and weapons to help.

Some 2,000 soldiers have been taken back to nuclear-armed North Korea this year, Lee said, and were now reportedly being held in isolation in Pyongyang and at other locations across the country.

"It is understood that the bodies of fallen soldiers were cremated locally in Kursk before being transported," back to the North, he added.

North Korea "supported Russia’s recapture of Kursk by deploying 18,000 troops in two phases," Lee said, adding that the number of clashes in the area had decreased since around March.

Since then, "there have been reports of misconduct within North Korean forces, including excessive drinking and theft," he said.

- Combat capability 'significantly improved' -

South Korea has repeatedly slammed the troop deployment, and criticised the North for sending container-loads of weapons, including missiles, to aid Russia's war against Ukraine.

The nuclear-armed North has received significant technical support from Russia in return, Seoul claimed.

In addition, after six months of fighting, Seoul's National Intelligence Service estimates that the North Korean forces' "combat capability has significantly improved," Lee said.

"Early inexperience has diminished and they have become more proficient in using new weapon systems, including drones," he said.

Lee said it was not possible to "entirely rule out" that the North could send more soldiers to Russia.

The troops sent to Russia, reportedly from North Korea's elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Seoul has previously said.

Moscow and Pyongyang have boosted their military cooperation since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The two countries signed a sweeping military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to North Korea.

Pyongyang launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

Experts have warned that the nuclear-armed North may be testing weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine.