North Korea's Kim Jong Un visits naval destroyer, KCNA says

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Choe Hyon naval destroyer at a military exhibition on Sunday, state media KCNA reported on Monday.

Kim said the navy should be prepared to "thoroughly deter or counter and punish the enemy's provocations," KCNA said.

The annual Defence Development exhibition promotes North Korea's "remarkable development" of its modernised military, the media reported.

It is unclear when the ships will become operational, analysts said.

South Korea-based SI Analytics reported in September that satellite imagery showed North Korea finally installing engines in the Choe Hyon, and predicted it could conduct sea trials as soon as this month.

The United States is seeking to revive the U.S. Navy with its allies, South Korea and Japan, amid rising geopolitical tensions with China.

South Korean shipbuilders, among the industry's leaders, are mulling an expansion in the U.S. defence market, including investing in U.S. shipyards.

In May, a Choe Hyon-class destroyer partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony Kim attended, which the leader called a "criminal act."

(Reporting by Heejin Kim, Josh Smith; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Richard Chang)

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