The Nampo-class corvettes (or light frigates) are a class of warships built in North Korea. They were seen from satellite-photos in 2013 and are believed to be a replacement for the older . The class has some similarities to

Myanmar Navy The Myanmar Navy ( my, တပ်မတော် (ရေ); ) is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Myanmar. With 24,000 personnel on duty, the navy operates more than 150 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in c ...

UMS Tabinshweht, an Anawrahta-class frigate. Two known hulls have been launched: one on the

Japan Sea The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

Najin Rajin-guyŏk () is a North Korean district on Rason in the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) in the North Pacific Ocean on the northeast tip of North Korea. It is in the Kwanbuk region and location in the south of Rason. North of it lies the North ...

and one in Nampo for service in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...

Specification

Little is known of their features and weapons. One of the clear element is the presence of a helicopter-deck and possibly even a small hangar on the hull. The only weapon system identified is anti-submarine rockets (RBU 1200 A/S mortars), thus making the corvette a response for the recent developments of the

South Korean Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy inc ...

in the field of submarines. Further weapons could be added however, including guns and anti-ship missiles (such as the

Kh-35 The Zvezda Kh-35 (russian: Х-35 , AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which c ...

, known to have been recently put in service in the KPN). The potential missile systems appears to be SAM and SSM. By western standard, the ships should be considered corvettes, however they're also described as light frigates for their role.

References

{{reflist Corvettes of the Korean People's Navy Corvette classes