By Zachary Keck
The two new vessels are largest surface combatants constructed by North Korea in 25 years.
North Korea has fielded two new helicopter-carrying frigates, according to commercial satellite imagery analyzed by 38 North.
38 North reported on Thursday that it has spotted two new helicopter carrying frigates from commercial satellite imagery. According to the report, the new frigates are the “largest surface combatants constructed by the DPRK’s Korean People’s Navy (KPN) in 25 years.”
The report said that construction on the two new vessels had begun in 2006-2007 and they had been launched in 2011 or 2012. It noted, however, that it was unclear if the helicopter frigates had yet been commissioned by the KPN, and also pointed out that “should the KPN push aggressively to commission and operate these new vessels, it will still likely take several years to fully integrate their new capabilities into fleet operations.”
The 38 North analysis, which was written by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., the Chief Analytical Officer and Co-founder of AllSource Analysis, Inc., speculated that the new helicopter-carrying frigates had likely been built for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Bermudez noted, for instance, that since the 1990s South Korea has acquired a number of submarines, which Pyongyang viewed as a security threat.
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