North Korean leader Kim inspects new warship, claims progress toward nuclear-armed navy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his new destroyer for two straight days ahead of its commissioning and observed a test of cruise missiles fired from the warship, vowing to accelerate the nuclear-armament of his navy, state media said Thursday.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim, during his visits to the western shipyard of Nampo on Tuesday and Wednesday, also inspected the construction of a third destroyer of the same class as his 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, first unveiled in April 2025.

Kim has hailed the development of Choe Hyon as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military. State media says the ship is designed to handle various weapons systems, including antiair and anti-naval weapons, as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean military officials and experts say Choe Hyon was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, but some have raised doubts about whether it's ready for active service.

North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year, but it was damaged during a botched launching ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin, triggering a furious reaction from Kim, who called the failure “criminal.” North Korea has said the new destroyer, named Kang Kon, was relaunched in June after repair, but outside experts have questioned whether the ship is fully operational.

After observing Choe Hyon’s sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship met operational requirements and called it a symbol of the country’s expanding naval capabilities. He called for building two warships a year over the next five years of the same or higher class as the Choe Hyon.

Kim came back Wednesday to observe a test launch of cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon. State media published photos of him watching from shore as several projectiles rose from the vessel in plumes of white smoke and described the weapons as “strategic,” a term used for nuclear-capable systems.

After years of spurring ballistic missile development, Kim has shifted his focus more toward naval capabilities, including an ongoing construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. KCNA said the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary in October.

Naval capabilities were also a key focus when Kim outlined his five-year military goals at last month’s Workers’ Party congress, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater.

Kim on Tuesday claimed that his efforts to arm his navy with nuclear weapons were “making satisfactory” progress. He said those purported advancements would “constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century.”

KCNA did not elaborate on what Kim meant. Some analysts say North Korea may be preparing to formally declare a maritime boundary that could encroach on waters controlled by rival South Korea.

As inter-Korean tensions worsen, Kim has repeatedly said he does not recognize the Northern Limit Line, drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The poorly drawn western sea boundary has been the site of several deadly naval clashes in past years.

At the party congress, Kim doubled down on plans to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which already is equipped with various weapons systems threatening the United States and U.S. allies in Asia, and confirmed his hard-line view of rival South Korea.

But he left the door open for dialogue with the Trump administration, reiterating Pyongyang’s demand that Washington drop its insistence on denuclearization as a precondition for resuming long-stalled talks.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center, inspects new destroyer, Choe Hyon ahead of its commissioning at a shipyard in Nampo, North Korea Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un inspects new destroyer, Choe Hyon ahead of its commissioning Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what is says a test of cruise missiles from new destroyer Choe Hyon Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, foreground, attends a sea trial of new destroyer, Choe Hyon ahead of its commissioning Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he soon will endorse a Republican candidate in the Texas Senate race, warning that the divisive contest “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer.”

But Trump, a former reality television host, continued to stoke suspense over his decision by not immediately naming his choice, even as Republicans on Capitol Hill pushed him to support four-term Sen. John Cornyn over conservative firebrand Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general.

“IT MUST STOP NOW!” Trump wrote on social media after Cornyn and Paxton advanced on Tuesday to a May 26 runoff for the nomination. “I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”

Paxton said he wouldn't drop out no matter whom Trump backed.

“I’m staying in this race,” he told Real America’s Voice. “I owe it to the people of Texas.”

Republicans are deeply concerned that the 83-day sprint to the runoff will be expensive and divisive as the party fights to maintain control of Congress in competitive states across the nation.

Texas, a state Trump carried by 14 percentage points, was not supposed to be among this year's political battlegrounds. But operatives in both parties believe Democrats have a real chance to claim a Senate seat here for the first time in nearly four decades.

Democrats nominated state Rep. James Talarico, a 36-year-old Christian progressive who Republicans privately believed to be a stronger general election candidate than his primary opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

There was already pressure on Trump to endorse Cornyn before the president's social media post Wednesday afternoon.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that Cornyn was "the best bet to win the general election.” Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming and Mike Rounds of South Dakota said they have been sending similar messages to Trump.

The drumbeat has grown loud enough that Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Trump ally from Texas, said the expectation is the president will endorse Cornyn.

“It’s going to be probably more difficult for Paxton to beat Talarico than Cornyn,” said Jackson, who has not made an endorsement. Because Cornyn has been "dumping tons of money in the race,” Jackson said it makes sense to avoid spending even more “picking each other apart for weeks and then going into the general election as the nominee wounded.”

Cornyn and his allies spent nearly $70 million to survive the first round of the primary. He was slightly ahead of Paxton with more votes still being counted Wednesday.

Some right-wing allies of the president warned him against backing Cornyn, whom they view as insufficiently loyal to Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement.

“Endorsing Cornyn will be more gutting to the base than the Iran air strikes,” wrote conservative influencer Mike Cernovich on social media.

It is unclear whether any level of attack can deter Paxton, who has long been shadowed by allegations of corruption and infidelity. He has fashioned himself as the kind of diehard supporter that Trump needs in Washington.

Paxton was defiant when speaking to a few hundred supporters at a Dallas hotel ballroom on Tuesday night, a far different scene from Cornyn's small news conference.

“We just sent a message, loud and clear, to Washington,” he said. “We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy the seat.”

Cornyn's campaign argued that a runoff would not have been necessary without the “vanity campaign” by Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished a distant third. It is not known how Hunt's voters would line up in the runoff.

The pro-Paxton Lone Star political action committee, in a memo, described Cornyn as a “Washington relic."

“The D.C. establishment has done its job: it rallied around its wounded incumbent, opened the fundraising spigot, and flooded the airwaves. But the results, the data, and the reality on the ground all point to the same conclusion: John Cornyn has no viable path to the Republican nomination,” the memo said. “Cornyn should suspend his campaign, concede the nomination to Ken Paxton, and refuse to allow another $100+ million in Republican resources to be burned in a race that is already decided.”

While Trump's endorsement looms, Cornyn made it clear that he would make the case himself. He told reporters that Paxton would be “a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans" in November.

“I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally,” Cornyn said. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”

Cornyn will face intense fundraising pressure, having already spent so much money in the first round of the primary. Aides said he had some small fundraisers planned but nothing in the days immediately after the election as he returns to Washington.

Peoples reported from New York and Mascaro from Washington. Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/elections.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - This photo combination shows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, in Dallas and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in Austin, Texas, both on March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, Jack Myer)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)