North Korea's Frigate Kang Kon Bristles With Missiles and Dozens of Machine Guns

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North Korea’s newest warship, the Kang Kon , has an unexpected feature: the ability to deliver something of a modern broadside, albeit with machine guns rather than larger naval guns. The vessel’s various weapon systems, including a vertical launch system array loaded with cruise missiles, were recently shown off to the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. State media claims the ship, which was damaged in a botched launch attempt last year, is now set to be commissioned into service within the next two months.

Kang Kon is one of two Choi-Hyun class warships (also sometimes written Choe Hyon) that have been built to date. Two more are reportedly under construction. As a matter of taxonomy, North Korea describes them as destroyers, but also says that they displace around 5,000 metric tons. Globally, surface combatants with similar displacement are more commonly categorized as frigates. Kang Kon and its sister ship Choi-Hyun are very heavily armed for their size, as we will go over in more detail.

The Kang Kon seen firing its machine guns during a demonstration last week. North Korean state media

There have also been reports that Kang Kon was renamed Jiang Jian after the failed launch, which was a huge and undeniable embarrassment for the regime in Pyongyang. Satellite images of the incident went viral , and it remained a global news headline for weeks . As such, it would make a certain amount of sense with the stigma that might now be attached to the original moniker. However, English-language state media reports can be found from just yesterday still referring to the ship as Kang Kon .

Kim Jong Un observed the demonstration of the Kang Kon ‘s capabilities last Friday, but official reports were only published yesterday. These were accompanied by a video montage and still images. During the event, the ship launched 12 “strategic” cruise missiles, a term North Korea typically uses to describe nuclear-capable weapon systems . It also fired its 5-inch main gun and at least one of its Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS) armed with a 30mm multi-barrel Gatling-type cannon. There were “trials of its electronic warfare systems and assessments of its target-detection and information-processing capabilities,” as well, according to the Associated Press , citing official reports.

Uncle Kim oversaw the successful test launch of strategic cruise missiles from the Korean People's Navy's (KPN) new guided-missile frigate, Kang Kon (52).

The trials also included tests of the ship's primary weapons systems, including its main gun, electronic warfare suite, and… pic.twitter.com/SfXS4KuCqY

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) July 5, 2026

And then there were the machine guns.

In one of the official still pictures, seen at the top of this story and in parts below, there looks to be at least 12 KPV-series machine guns firing from the port side of the ship. This includes at least eight guns in four twin mounts that are remotely controlled. These mounts are installed on the deck at various points. Available pictures show three more KPVs on single mounts seen protruding from ports in the left side of the main superstructure, which may be manually operated by sailors within. The video footage shows there is another mount toward the stern, but it is not entirely clear if it has one or two machine guns fitted.

Close-up looks at one of the remotely-controlled twin-mounts (at left) and one of the single mounts (at right). North Korean state media

The KPV is a Soviet-designed heavy machine gun that fires the 14.5x114mm cartridge. Though the core design traces back to the end of World War II, variants are still in service in Russia, as well as in dozens of other countries around the world. It has been widely used over the years, especially as a light anti-aircraft weapon. With its large round and appreciable range, it is also effective against a variety of other targets, including lightly armored vehicles and small boats. Versions have been on various vehicles and naval vessels over the years, and it can also be employed from mounts on the ground.

A KPV machine gun on a single ground mount, a configuration also known as the ZPU-1, which US forces captured in Iraq in 2003. US Military

A KPV machine gun in single naval mounting on a Russian Navy vessel. This configuration is also known as the MTPU. Russian Ministry of Defense

There is another gun in a port on the left side of the ship, but not enough of it is visible to identify it. One of Kang Kon’s 30mm CIWS’s is also visible in this picture, along with multi-cell launchers that could be used to fire various defensive payloads, including flares, chaff, and other expendable countermeasures. Previous images of the Kang Kon and the first-in-class Choi-Hyun have also shown them equipped with what appears to be a Russian-made Pantsir-ME CIWS , or a clone thereof. There are also multiple Vertical Launch System (VLS) arrays with a total of 74 cells between them, including ones that look large enough to accommodate ballistic missiles .

Another close-up showing an unknown gun in a port on Kang Kon ‘s hull (at lower left), as well as one of its 30mm CIWSs. North Korean state media

The array of machine guns on Kang Kon looks like almost comical overkill, especially if there are an equal number of them mounted on the opposite side of the ship. There is a growing use case for some additional small-caliber armament on ships , especially to provide extra close-in defense at sea and in port against aerial drones and uncrewed boats. These are real threats to warships that have now been fully thrust into the public consciousness by the war in Ukraine .

Over the years, the Russian Navy has been observed adding additional machine guns, including ones in remotely-operated mounts , as well as so-called “cope cage” style screens to surface vessels to help ward off kamikaze drones, with mixed results . The cages have also appeared on submarines in port . It is worth noting here that the North Korean regime has been providing troops , as well as ballistic missiles and other weapons , to support the Russian war effort.

KRONSTADT (St. Petersburg), June 3.

Birds of the @1usc_army , @usf_army hunted down and set ablaze the corvette Boikiy, a guided missile weapons carrier.

06:35, 03.06.26. Veleshchynskyi Dry Dock, Kronstadt (St. Petersburg) – the cradle of the russian Navy.

Tired after its… pic.twitter.com/2HjrlyVKdc

— 414 Magyar's Birds (@414magyarbirds) June 3, 2026

Russian Defense Ministry announced that Ukraine attempted to attack the Ivan Khurs signals intelligence ship of the Russian Navy with 3 unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in the Black Sea this morning.

Moscow released footage allegedly showing the destruction of one of the USVs. pic.twitter.com/YfS7xWSGWw

— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) May 24, 2023

There are still larger questions about the actual combat capability of both of the Choi-Hyun class warships, as well as their broad utility, especially if they are ultimately procured only in relatively small numbers. Furthermore, Kang Kon was relaunched very quickly last year, despite the extent of the damage that it looked to have suffered after the initial botched attempt. The full scale and scope of repairs that have been made since last May, and over what timeline, remain unclear. The official video from the demonstration last Friday does notably show the ship sailing under its own power.

The Kang Kon as seen at the shipyard in Chongjin on May 23, 2025. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies (now Vantor)

A satellite image showing Kang Kon in dry dock in Rajin, North Korea, on June 12, 2025. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies (now Vantor)

A screen capture from the official video of last week’s demonstration, showing the Kang Kon underway. North Korean state media capture

As TWZ has previously written about this new class of North Korean ships:

“While this ship should be capable as a launch platform for longer-range strike missiles, its other primary role as an air warfare asset is highly debatable. As with other new high-profile North Korean weapon systems, while they may offer advanced capabilities in relation to what the country already has, in a wartime scenario, they would be the first to be targeted and destroyed. Having a ship that looks loosely like more advanced foreign ones and packed with weapons is one thing, actually making it a survivable asset, with all the technology and training that goes with it, is a far higher bar to reach. Infusion of Russian technologies and assistance could help in this regard, but only to a degree.”

“It is unlikely that Pyongyang will ever be able to build these ships in large enough numbers to give their fleet true depth and resiliency in combat, assuming they even stand a shot in a combat scenario at all. Even if multiple frigates are built, they would be tracked and sunk quickly during the opening stages of a conflict. This is especially true considering they could carry standoff weapons with nuclear warheads. Still, they may have enough time to send their long-range weaponry on its way before they reach their demise. Considering the unique weapons configuration we are seeing, that could very well be their point. An ambiguously assured second-strike deterrent.”

Kim Jong Un and others walk away from a viewing area after watching a demonstration of Kang Kon ‘s firepower. The ship is seen in the background to the left. North Korean state media

If the North Koreans keep the timeline that has now been stated, Kang Kon should be officially commissioned by September, if not before then. Many questions remain, whether the ships are festooned with machine guns firing from their sides or not.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

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