N. Korea's Kim attends navigation test of destroyer Kang Kon

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended the navigation test of a naval destroyer, state media reported Saturday, calling for strengthening the navy's combat capabilities and nuclear deterrent.

Kim boarded the destroyer Kang Kon, Thursday to assess its maneuvering and operational condition, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Building a powerful navy capable of "reliably taking charge of a part of the nuclear war deterrent" and striking the enemy "under the water or on the water" was "the most important core task" in the party's five-year national defense development policy, he said.

Kim expressed confidence that the navy's modernization targets under the five-year plan, including the development of "underwater secret weapons" and the construction of 10,000-ton destroyers, would be "surely carried out" by the country's munitions workers and scientists.

He ordered the destroyers Choe Hyon and Kang Won to be commissioned "as soon as possible." Photos released by the KCNA showed his daughter Ju-ae accompanying him.

The 5,000-ton Kang Kon has had a troubled path to service.

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