Satellite images leaked: What is being built in the port near Pyongyang? PHOTO

Images from independent satellite manufacturers Makar Technologies and Planet Labs on April 6 show a ship under construction in the water at the Nampo shipyard on North Korea's west coast, about 60 kilometers southwest of the capital Pyongyang, CNN reports.

Analysts say the images show ongoing construction of weapons and other internal systems of the ship, which is likely a guided-missile frigate (FFG) designed to carry missiles in vertical launch tubes for use against land and sea targets.

"The FFG is approximately 140 meters long, making it the largest warship produced in North Korea," said the analysis by Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jennifer June of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

For the sake of comparison, the destroyers of the US Navy "Early Burke" are about 153 meters long, and the Constellation-class frigates under construction will be 151 meters long.

The existence of a warship is no surprise.

The Kim Jong Un's regime is rapidly modernizing its armed forces, developing a range of new weapons and testing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach almost anywhere in the United States.

This was done despite United Nations sanctions that placed strict restrictions on access to materials and technology to develop these weapons.

Closer ties with Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine could help North Korea overcome sanctions, analysts say.

Kim Duk-ki, a retired South Korean admiral, said he thought Moscow could provide technology for the frigate's missile systems.

Images of the ship appeared in a report by state-run Korean Central Television late last year on the ruling Workers' Party's end-of-year plenary session. The pictures show leader Kim inspecting the construction of the ship.

Images shown in the KCTV video show the warship could have weapons similar to those found in modern navies, including vertical launch cells that could be used to fire a variety of missiles.

Analysts also noted that the ship appears to be fitted with a phased-array radar, which can track threats and targets faster and more accurately than North Korea's previously demonstrated capabilities.

Despite these indications of advanced war capabilities, analysts urge caution in making assumptions.