North Korea pushes ahead with naval base construction on the East Sea, about 60 km from the MDL; Kim Jong Un visits the site

[Financial News] North Korea is reportedly building a naval base near Tongchon Port in Gangwon State on its east coast, only about 60 km in a straight line from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).
According to North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun on the 12th, State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un visited a key naval base construction site on the east coast on the 11th. In a separate report that day, the newspaper said the naval base was being built in Tongchon, Gangwon State.
Chairman Kim said the naval base construction was “a major core project directly linked to our country’s security and the defense of its maritime sovereignty,” and stressed that it must be completed within the timeframe set by the Party Central Committee and meet the required quality standards.
He then presented guidelines for deploying strategic elements to modernize, equip with multiple functions and fortify the base. The newspaper reported that he also outlined measures to advance construction in earnest, including reinforcing the construction leadership team and workforce. However, it did not disclose a specific completion date.
North Korea decided to build large, modernized naval bases on the East and Yellow seas at the 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in February and the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 9th Central Committee of the WPK in June. The base is expected to host a new 5,000-ton-class destroyer (Choe Hyon class) built last year, nuclear-powered submarines and strategic submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles, as well as 10,000-ton-class cruisers whose construction North Korea recently disclosed.
North Korea is stepping up efforts to strengthen its naval capabilities, deploying the lead ship of its new 5,000-ton-class destroyers, the Choe Hyon, to the Yellow Sea and the second ship, the Kang Kon, to the East Sea. Because operating large vessels over long periods requires berthing and maintenance facilities as well as systems for supplying fuel and other provisions, expanding naval bases is a step toward establishing the infrastructure needed to operate new vessels and support the North Korean Navy’s operational capabilities. Analysts say the construction of a large naval base on the east coast is intended to expand North Korea’s influence in the Pacific and counter South Korea, Japan and the United States.

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