North Korea’s military has experienced another setback, and Kim Jung-un is not happy, to put it lightly. A brand-new destroyer ship was set to launch at its unveiling on May 22. The 5000-ton destroyer accidentally was thrown off course, tilting and damaging the hull. Kim Jung-un late admonished the Navy’s accident, calling it “absolute carelessness” and characterizing it as a “criminal act.” Immediate repairs are underway, set to be completed prior to the next Workers’ Party Meeting.

Kim Jong-un assumed office as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of North Korea in 2011. With this title comes the full responsibility of running a country and its military. Though heavily criticized worldwide, the repressive regime has not been toppled yet. And to deter outside meddling, North Korea has also strengthened its military over the years.

While it does not measure anywhere close to the developed militaries of the United States or China, North Korea’s conventional military force is one of the largest in the world. As it continues to build its nuclear arsenal, North Korea has also been modernizing its conventional forces — including its navy. (This is the world’s largest navy.)

The North Korean navy is mainly considered a brown-water navy, meaning that it primarily operates in rivers and coastal areas. The main force operates within the 50-kilometer exclusion zone. One drawback for the North Korean navy of operating around the Korean Peninsula is that the fleet consists of east and west coast squadrons, which would not be capable of supporting each other in the event of war.

North Korea’s naval force is not as evenly balanced as other, more developed navies. For instance, roughly 81% of the fleet is offshore patrol vehicles, and then another 14% is submarines. Basically, there is very little variability within the fleet, but the purpose it serves is mainly policing and protecting its borders, as opposed to expanding them.

To identify the 25 classes of vessels that make up the ships and submarines of North Korea’s Navy, 24/7 Wall St. referenced military data site World Directory of Modern Military Warships’ directory of all active ships in North Korea. The ship and submarine classes are ranked in order of the number of vessels currently in active use by the navy, according to WDMMW. Any ships on order were excluded.

The People’s Army Naval Force currently has 195 total units in its active naval inventory. This total includes frontline commissioned vessels but excludes smaller patrol vessels, auxiliary-survey ships, replenishment, and historical ceremonial types.

This post was updated on May 23, 2025 to provide up-to-date information and describe the recent mishap with North Korea’s new destroyer.

25. Fugas-class

Ground effect vehicle A-90 Orl... (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Andrey Korchagin

 

• Type: Mine warfare
• Number of vessels: 1

24. Sinpo-class

 

 

21. Nampo-class

 

• Type: Corvette
• Number of vessels: 2

20. Sariwon-class

 

 

• Type: Corvette
• Number of vessels: 4

19. Huangfeng-class

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 4

18. Nongo-class

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 6

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 9

10. Yono-class

 

 

• Type: Submarine
• Number of vessels: 9

9. Sang-O-class

 

 

• Type: Submarine
• Number of vessels: 10

8. Soju-class

 

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 10

7. T-class

 

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 10

6. So-1-class

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 10

5. Shanghai-II-class

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 10

4. Taechong-class

 

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 12

3. Chaho-class

 

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 16

2. Sin-Hung/Ku-Song-class

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 20

1. Chongjin-class

• Type: Offshore patrol vessels
• Number of vessels: 20

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