North Korean leader Kim showcases new warship ahead of visit by China’s Xi

Key points

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed sea trials of a new warship repaired after a failed launch last year and vowed to accelerate efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy, state media said on Saturday (June 6, 2026), showcasing his expanding military capabilities ahead of a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
• North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim visited the 5,000-tonne destroyer Kang Kon on Thursday (June 4, 2026) as it underwent capability tests.
• Photos released by the agency showed him accompanied by his increasingly prominent teenage daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, whom South Korean officials say may be being groomed as his successor.
• Kim Jong Un called for “rapidly developing” naval forces capable of playing a larger role in the country’s nuclear deterrent and dealing a “deadly blow at the enemy any moment under the water or on the water,” KCNA said....