A new North Korean warship has made its first appearance at a naval base on the east coast, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, suggesting that the DPRK has finally deployed the corvette after a lengthy development.

The vessel’s sister ship revealed last year also visited naval bases near the South Korean border for the first time this week, in what may be a response to large-scale U.S.-ROK Freedom Shield military drills that include exercises on the east coast.

The activity follows DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s inspection of a similar warship on the west coast last month amid promises of a navy development revival.

NEW WARSHIP DEPLOYED

NK Pro analysis of Planet Labs imagery shows that a 250-foot (77-meter) naval corvette, unofficially dubbed a Tuman-class warship, appeared at the Korean People’s Army (KPA) Navy Unit 155 in Munchon on March 8 and stayed there through March 12.

This is the first time the new warship has appeared at a naval base, suggesting it is now deployed and ready for use in training or patrols.

It spent most of the last decade under slow and often stalled construction at the Rajin Shipyard in Rason.

The warship then moved to the October 3 Factory under KPA Navy Unit 597, located right next to the Unit 155 naval base, between Dec. 28 and 29 last year.

It may have undergone final maintenance at the factory or weapons could have been installed ahead of its deployment, but high-resolution imagery is needed to determine the purpose of its stay there during January and February.

North Korean state media has yet to report on the official deployment of the ship.

Tianran Xu, an analyst with Open Nuclear Network, cautioned that the apparent deployment of both new warships on the east coast does not represent a significant advancement of North Korea’s capabilities.

“They could buy some time for strategic subs to launch nukes … by offering a relatively secure operational zone underwater and to keep enemy anti-submarine aircraft away,” Xu told NK Pro, adding they could also “direct smaller ships to conduct anti-ship and anti-submarine operations” in the case of non-nuclear warfighting.

But the corvettes are “too vulnerable” to U.S. and ROK attacks and their combat capabilities are “questionable,” according to Xu. 

He said they should be considered a “starting point” and that “with time, they could slowly upgrade the sensors and weapons onboard.”

However, Tarao Goo, an analyst with the Oryx and Deep Dive military blogs, told NK Pro the Tuman-class, like the Amnok class, could be outfitted with what North Korea calls nuclear-capable cruise missiles, making it a “strategic weapon” that South Korea, Japan and the U.S. “could not ignore.”

“It seems that the goal was to give surface vessels nuclear weapons in addition to [protecting missile submarines], to enhance their ‘deterrent’ capability,” according to Goo.

“These vessels were so small that it would have been acceptable to ignore their existence. However, having demonstrated that they were armed with nuclear missiles, they were added to the ‘list of targets to destroy first’ in the eyes of Japan, South Korea and the United States, in addition to the SLBM submarines. In other words, it became necessary to constantly watch its movements.”

SISTER SHIP TO BORDER

Kim Jong Un unveiled an almost identical warship last August — also at the Unit 155 naval base in Munchon — that is reportedly fitted with nuclear-capable cruise missiles. 

It’s officially called Patrol Ship no. 661 and unofficially dubbed an Amnok-class corvette.

A ship matching the size and appearance of this Amnok-class appeared in the waters of Kosong Bay on the east coast on March 1, according to NK Pro analysis of Planet Labs imagery, near Mount Kumgang and close to the South Korean border. 

It then appeared to dock at a port in Kosong from March 8 to 9, where North Korea dismantled a South Korean-owned floating hotel last year, before showing up at Namae naval base just to the north in an image taken on the morning of March 10.

This is the first known visit of one of North Korea’s newest warships to the border area, possibly in response to U.S. and ROK military drills on the east coast or to participate in rival drills.

Xu told NK Pro that as far as serving a role monitoring enemy exercises, the Amnok-class warship’s “radar is a small, short-range low-altitude and surface search radar, very basic,” and that its sonar is “probably also rudimentary.”

The Amnok-class warship was first deployed to Rakwon naval base on the east coast in 2017 and stayed there for most of the time since then. 

It changed positions at the base frequently over the years, but the fact that Kim Jong Un and the navy didn’t promote it until 2023 suggests it may not have been fully functional even after initial deployment. 

Its cruise missile system may have been installed or finished while away from Rakwon between June and Sept. 2021, or while it was at Rakwon from late 2021 until being moved to Munchon around Aug. 18, 2023 for Kim Jong Un’s inspection.

Planet Labs imagery shows it then went back to Rakwon but moved again to a naval base on Mayang Island near Sinpho from mid-September until late October last year. It returned to Rakwon again before traveling south toward the inter-Korean border this month.

The ship made its first appearance in state media last June in new navy-themed propaganda music videos. Planet Labs imagery of Rakwon taken in May 2023 may have captured the filming, showing the Amnok-class ship and four Osa I-class (Soju-class) missile boats docked in the same unique formation seen in the propaganda video.

WEST COAST WARSHIPS

North Korea has also built one Tuman-class and one Amnok-class warship on the west coast over the last decade.

The Tuman-class has moved between Nampho Dockyard and Pipha naval base over the last year, suggesting it is deployed despite an absence of such claims by the navy.

State media reported last month that Kim Jong Un inspected the west coast Amnok-class corvette at the Nampho Dockyard, but photos showed its construction was not yet complete. Multiple smaller patrol boats were also under construction at the dockyard.

Planet Labs imagery on March 12 showed the Amnok-class was still at Nampho and that the Tuman-class has been anchored at Pipha in all available images taken since March 5, around when the Freedom Shield exercises started.

Kim promised to accelerate naval development and increase nuclear capabilities during a visit to naval headquarters last August, after many years of neglecting the navy while focusing on missile development.

The navy launched its first upgraded ballistic missile submarine last September and Kim reportedly inspected a nuclear-powered submarine under development in Sinpho in January, but state media didn’t publish any photos or specify when it is expected to be completed.

Edited by Alannah Hill

Updated on March 13 at 10:12 p.m. KST with additional expert comments