Special Event Representing Significant Breakthrough in Modernization of Navy in New Era Ceremony of Launching Destroyer of KPA Navy Takes Place with Splendour

 

Pyongyang, April 26 (KCNA) -- The tremendous strength of Juche Korea, which confidently attains the phased goals for building a rich country with a strong army through the first arduous journey and vigorous stride of great pioneering along the milestone of victory indicated by the ever-victorious Workers’ Party of Korea, is ushering in a grand new era of an advanced maritime power while powerfully reaching out to the vast ocean.

A new entity has emerged to firmly guarantee the maritime sovereignty of the DPRK, demonstrating the prestige of a powerful country rising bravely despite all difficulties, the irresistible might of the indomitable, tenacious and intrepid Korean people and the modernity of the Juche-oriented naval force making rapid progress.

The birth of the new-type multi-mission destroyer, which is an ensemble of the state economy and an aggregate of self-reliant defence technology and which is equipped with the powerful cutting-edge strike weapon systems of the Korean style which do not allow comparison, is a brilliant fruition of the iron faith and will and outstanding leadership of the great Comrade Kim Jong Un, who indicated the path for rapidly developing the naval force of the DPRK into a powerful treasured sword for defending justice and peace and a service equipped with the comprehensive fighting power with nuclear weapons as the main axis and is dynamically steering the rejuvenation of the warship-building industry, and a valuable victory won by the strong aspiration and indomitable advance of the Korean people to outpace the world with the conviction in their own strength and courageous struggle.

A ceremony of launching the newly-built destroyer was held with splendour at the Nampho Shipyard on April 25, the significant founding anniversary of the first armed forces of the Korean revolution, in the presence of Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Present at the ceremony were senior Party, government and military officials, the workers of the Nampho Shipyard and officials and researchers in the field of the warship-building industry who contributed to building the destroyer, officers and men of the Navy of the Korean People’s Army, discharged navy generals, teaching staff and students of Kim Jong Suk Naval University, commanding officers of the services and corps of the KPA and leading officials of ministries and national agencies.

The venue of the ceremony was full of the ardent reverence for the great Party Central Committee which has firmly consolidated the absolute might and irreversible superiority of the DPRK’s armed forces by dynamically leading the rapid development of the revolution in national defence industry for the prosperity of our country and its long-term development and fully realized the centuries-old desire of the Korean people to have the strongest naval force.

The guard of honour of the KPA Navy solemnly lined up waiting for the moment of glory.

When the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un arrived at the venue of the ceremony, all the participants broke into enthusiastic cheers looking up to the great revolutionary and ever-victorious iron-willed brilliant commander who is vigorously ushering in a new era of building a rich country with a strong army, bringing the dignity and prestige of our state and people onto the highest peak of the century with his outstanding revolutionary ideas, matchless pluck and round-the-clock devotion.

There was a ceremony of greeting the head of state.

Kim Jong Un reviewed the colours of honour of the KPA Navy and its guard of honour.

He was courteously greeted by Senior Admiral Kim Myong Sik, commander of the KPA Navy, other major commanding officers of the Navy and commanding officers of the east and west sea fleets of the Navy and their affiliated underwater and surface warship squadrons with boundless reverence for him.

There was a march-past of the guard of honour of the KPA Navy.

Kim Jong Un took the platform followed by senior officials of the Party, government and military, the commander of the Navy, commanders of the east and west sea fleets of the Navy, the manager of the Nampho Shipyard and others.

Officials of the Party Central Committee, chief secretaries of provincial committees of the WPK, the officials, persons of merit and labour innovators who contributed to the building of the warship and commanding officers of the services and corps of the KPA took the seats for invited guests.

The national anthem of the DPRK was solemnly played.

Jo Chun Ryong, secretary of the Central Committee of the WPK, delivered a commemorative address.

He said: The 5 000-tonnage destroyer, which is equipped with the most powerful weapons and which has been built by the workers in the field of our warship-building industry, is to record a sacred new name of the defender in the blue sea of the country. It is a very encouraging reality and an event marking decisive progress in the course of strengthening the war capability of the Navy that we have perfectly built the modern destroyer in a little over 400 days with our own strength and technology.

The new-type destroyer, which was born as an imposing creation symbolizing the strength and spirit of Korea, is the fruition of the great patriotic idea of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un and his will to build a rich country with a strong army and a precious entity in which every metre of the hull and every piece of equipment are permeated with the sacred responsibility for the revolution as the soul.

Today came to be recorded not only as a day when a new era of the warship-building industry was opened but also as a day when a new start was made by the workers and officials of our munitions industry, the speaker noted, adding that a brilliant golden age of the DPRK Navy will be brought about and the historic picture of the DPRK’s arms demonstrating their might as the treasured sword for defending justice and peace will steadily spread out as the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un leads our struggle in the van.

Yun Chi Gol, manager of the Nampho Shipyard, made a speech in reply.

He proudly reported that the workers of the Nampho Shipyard are prepared for presenting the first new-generation destroyer of the DPRK to the Ninth Congress of the WPK as a gift of patriotic loyalty by honourably implementing the decision of the Eleventh Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK on building modern destroyer.

The latest warship is a precious creation of the revolution in the warship-building industry floated by the iron faith and will and outstanding strategy of Kim Jong Un, who cherishes the great ambition to turn our country into an advanced maritime power, not merely by the buoyancy of nature, he said, adding that in the course of building the warship the way of thinking and manner of work of officials and employees have been changed, powerful ranks of technicians and skilled workers built up and scientific and advanced warship building technology and processes established.

He solemnly pledged that the Nampho Shipyard would become the pacemaker and engine of the revolution in the warship-building industry in the new era faithfully upholding the strategic plan of the Party Central Committee with practice and thus glorify forever the honour of the revolutionary industry group by taking the core position in the development of the shipbuilding industry of the country and perfectly carrying out any warship building task entrusted by the Party.

Pak Jong Chon announced a written order of the Central Military Commission of the WPK on the grading regulations, name and number of the new-type multi-mission destroyer and conveyed it to the commander of the East Sea Fleet of the KPA Navy.

On the order of the Central Military Commission of the WPK signed by Kim Jong Un, the newly built new-type 5 000-tonnage multi-mission destroyer was graded and classified as the Choe Hyon class and named after the anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter Choe Hyon, a model military activist who had made boundless loyalty to the leader part of his mental qualities, an elder of the armed forces of the DPRK and a veteran general.

Kim Jong Un conferred the ensign of destroyer Choe Hyon on the commanding officers of the East Sea Fleet of the KPA Navy.

Vice Admiral Pak Kwang Sop, commander of the East Sea Fleet, made a speech of pledge.

Referring to the honour of the Navy of clearly recording as a blueprint in the history of army building its true appearance as a service commensurate with the prestige of a military power, he said that the earnest desire for the most powerful arms to overwhelmingly smash the naval supremacy of the arrogant imperialist pirates has been fulfilled in the glorious era of holding Kim Jong Un in high esteem.

Saying that the position of our Navy will surely be in the distant future five or ten years from today when the era of the great Kim Jong Un-style fleet building has started, he, on behalf of all the officers and men of the Navy, extended warm gratitude and militant salute to Kim Jong Un who is ushering in the greatest heyday in the strengthening of the Navy and to the heroic workers of the shipyard and the relevant field that are upholding the Party’s grand plan for building the naval force with ardent loyalty and worthwhile struggle.

He, on the honour of the army of the WPK and seaman of the DPRK, solemnly pledged to fully demonstrate the honour of the fleet which has taken the most responsible battlefield for the great revolutionary cause and for defending the country by making all efforts to bolster up the combat capability of the warship and round off the war preparations of the fleet and preparing to be a navy which smashes the enemy unconditionally in every battle.

No Kwang Chol, minister of National Defence of the DPRK, cut the rope in token of the ceremony of launching the destroyer.

Amid the sound of the warship whistle at the naval port, a powerful entity revealed its magnificent appearance in the sea of the country signalling the advent of a new era of modernization of the Navy. And confetti and coloured tapes were poured out, fireworks were set off and balloons flew up, reflecting the excitement and joy of this historic moment.

Kim Jong Un mounted the destroyer.

The warship had the honour of undergoing the first inspection by the head of state.

After receiving the salute of the captain, Kim Jong Un met with seamen and gave them warm militant encouragement, going round the stem and quarter deck of the warship.

The memorial relief image of anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter Choe Hyon was unveiled on the destroyer.

Kim Jong Un placed a flower before the relief image of Choe Hyon and paid high tribute to him.

He said that the absolute loyalty to the leader and the spirit of unconditionally implementing the orders and instructions of the leader constitute the core of the revolutionary traits and military temperament of Choe Hyon, adding that the seas of the country will remain unperturbed and the ever-victorious tradition will continuously be carried forward when the reputation and noble soul of the veteran general whose mere name used to strike horror into the hearts of the two imperialist powers become the symbol of invincibility and militant banner of our Navy.

Kim Jong Un got off the warship and met the meritorious persons of the Nampho Shipyard who contributed to the building of the destroyer.

He highly appreciated that the historic event which can be called a new birth of the Juche-oriented navy could be brought about thanks to the patriotic and inexhaustible efforts and enthusiasm of the workers, scientists and technicians of the Nampho Shipyard who are supporting the strategic line and policies on building up the national defence clarified by the WPK with absolute loyalty and devoted efforts.

The workers, scientists and technicians in the field of the warship-building industry raised enthusiastic cheers, extending the greatest glory to Kim Jong Un who placed them at the vanguard of the struggle for accomplishing the sacred cause of strengthening the naval force of the DPRK radically and by leaps and bounds to suit the national prestige and status of a powerful country and is ushering in a new era of the rejuvenation of the warship-building industry with his energetic leadership.

He awarded commemorative copper coins to the commanders and other officers of the destroyer, wishing the destroyer Choe Hyon would perform distinguished feats and enjoy boundless glory.

Kim Jong Un made a historic speech on the occasion of the ceremony of launching the destroyer.

Expressing the historic significance and deep emotion of declaring the launch of the new-generation multi-mission attack destroyer No. 1, which is indispensable in building up our capability for stoutly defending the maritime sovereignty of the DPRK and which will represent an important starting point of the journey towards building an advanced maritime power, on April 25, the birthday of the first revolutionary armed forces of Korea, Kim Jong Un extended militant encouragement to the workers, technicians and officials of the Nampho Shipyard who successfully built the new-type destroyer true to the Party’s line of strengthening the naval force, and to the scientists, technicians and workers in the field of the shipbuilding industry who are struggling as the main force of the revolution in the warship-building industry in the new era.

After making a stern analysis of the situation in the vicinity which poses a very serious threat to the security environment of the DPRK, he said that the strength to launch aggression is directly proportional to the strength to prevent it, and set forth the plan of the WPK to radically bolster up the war capability of the Navy in line with the justness and necessity of the possession of pelagic fleet, the prerequisite for national security and the world trend of developing the naval force and the detailed ways for implementing the plan.

His speech is an immortal great programme which is of great theoretical and practical significance in leading the revolution in the warship-building industry in the new era to a steady upsurge and remarkably strengthening the DPRK Navy into a core service for national defence and a component of nuclear war deterrent.

When Kim Jong Un finished his commemorative speech, all the participants broke into the thunderous cheers of “Hurrah!” out of boundless excitement and ardent loyalty, which resounded into the vast sea.

Kim Jong Un had a significant photo session with all the commanding officers and seamen of the destroyer Choe Hyon against the background of the warship.

He expressed great expectation and conviction that all the seamen of the destroyer would steadfastly carry forward the indomitable faith and tradition of victory cherished by the pioneering generation of the Korean revolution and thus become the brave warriors of the sea fully guaranteeing the prosperity of the country and the peace and happiness of the people by force of arms and create a new legendary tale of heroes of the Juche-oriented navy.

All the commanding officers and seamen of the destroyer made a firm pledge to enhance the reputation as a matchless warship demonstrating the invincible valour in defending the territorial waters of the country, looking up to the great brilliant commander who gave them the strongest treasured sword unprecedented in the naval force of the country and personally mounted the warship to wish them distinguished military feats and instil the spirit of sure victory into them.

Kim Jong Un had a photo session also with officials and persons of merit of the shipyard and institute who made contributions to building the destroyer.

On the day, there were a banquet given by the KPA Navy with sincerity and a congratulatory performance by national-level art troupes in celebration of the ceremony of launching the new-type multi-mission destroyer.

After the performance, Kim Jong Un met discharged navy generals.

Highly appreciating the feats performed by the generals of the past days who had long served at the Navy’s important posts and recorded immortal exploits in the history of the Navy with boundless self-sacrificing spirit and indomitable mettle, he said that their great spirit should be invariably carried forward as the eternal soul of defence.

Kim Jong Un who is making an uninterrupted journey of devoted efforts for the accelerated growth of the national defence capability and the people’s peace, was courteously seen off by the leading officials of the Nampho Shipyard and discharged navy generals.

The ceremony of launching the new-type multi-mission destroyer held in the presence of Kim Jong Un will shine forever in history as an auspicious event heralding the new birth of the DPRK Navy and a great event that powerfully demonstrated before the whole world the spirit of advance and sure victory of our state and people dynamically advancing towards the grand goal of building an advanced maritime power.