The following represents an overview of the modern naval fighting capabilities of the Korean People's Army Naval Force (2023). The service currently counts 186 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. The WDMMW review takes into account specific categories of warships covering attack, defense, and general support designs. Inventory numbers and related unit types are provided as-is and derived from publically-available information / sources. "On Order" totals found at the bottom of this article are related to any future hulls currently under procurement/construction though said hulls may not be delivered for service in the current year for various reasons.
Updated: 05/01/2023 | © www.WDMMW.org
Submarines (19)
Hulls developed for undersea/submersible operation; nuclear-powered or conventionally-powered.
NOTES: Some numbers estimated due to lack of official reporting; Sinpo-class is an experimental ballistic missile submarine first identified in 2014; Sango-O build in Version I and Version II batch types; Type 033 originating from China and based in the Soviet Romeo-class submarine.
Frigates (2)
Hulls defined as dimensionally smaller than Destroyers, though larger than corvettes, having Blue Water capabilities.
NOTES: Najin-class light frigates are believed to be based on the Soviet Kola-class frigate.
Corvettes (7)
Hulls defined as dimensionally smaller than frigates but larger than OPVs, capable of operating independently or as part of the main fighting fleet.
NOTES: Amnok-class believed to be a rebuilt Krivak-class corvette; Sariwon-class based in Soviet Fugas/Tral class minesweeper.
Mine Warfare (1)
Hulls outfitted for the purpose of mine countermeasures/countermine warfare.
NOTES: Sole example most likely held in reserve, can double as a corvette.
Offshore Patrol Vessels (157)
Hulls defined as OPVs and outfitted for the purpose of close-to-shore defense / deterrence.
NOTES: Some commissioning dates and unit numbers estimated due to lack of official reporting.
©2023 • Content ©2021-2023 WDMMW.org • All Rights Reserved. The WDMMW.org logo, its written content, and watermarked photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and is protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. This resource uses publically-released imagery from the US DoD, the Russian MoD, the Chinese MoD, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and others as well as manufacturer marketing photos - no endorsement of this site by these parties/entities should be implied. Illustrations of products are copyright WDMMW.org (and are marked as such) and not for reuse/republication. Information found across this site, verified through publicly available sources, is assumed to be accurate at the time of publication.Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. Part of a network of sites that includes , , and . WDMMW.org is a sister site to . No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.
©2023 www.WDMMW.org • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2021-2023 (2yrs)
