North Korea commissions Choe Hyon-class DDG with large VLS and modern sensors

North Korea has commissioned its first ocean-going guided-missile destroyer, the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon-class, featuring a large VLS battery (reported 88 cells across five VLS configurations), phased-array radar panels, and an EW suite—marking a step-change in DPRK surface-combatant capability. The article also notes notable late-stage configuration changes (e.g., replacing an earlier NLOS ATGM fit with a new 12-tube launcher believed to be ASW/anti-torpedo related), indicating iterative combat-systems integration and evolving shipboard defensive concepts.