The second of two new naval vessels constructed for the North Korean navy keeled over and fell into the water on Wednesday, May 21 in full view of the country’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who was present for the 5,000-ton destroyer’s launch event.
It is one of two North Korean destroyers unveiled in quick succession and believed to have been built with Russian aid in exchange for Pyongyang’s deployment of troops to help Russia with its war on Ukraine.
Located at Chongjin, a port city in North Korea’s northeastern tip near Russia, the destroyer lost balance while being launched and sections of the bottom of the warship were crushed, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim Jong Un called the disaster “a criminal act” caused by “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” on the part of the Munitions Industry Department, Kim Chaek University of Technology, and the central ship design bureau.
While the KCNA, which usually only reports positive information about the totalitarian nuclear-armed state, did not share photos from the accident, grainy satellite footage shows the submerged heavily damaged ship lying on its side at an angle off the dock.
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Chinese military enthusiasts created simulated images of the sinking, as shared on X.
Kim has ordered the vessel be repaired in short order, prior to a meeting of the Korean Workers Party in June, adding that the accident tarnished North Korea’s national dignity.
Experts say that the incident could have been due to a lack of appropriate port facilities on North Korea’s part, as well as inexperience in handling large vessels.
North Korea, which spends a vast proportion of its meager GDP on the military, has a large navy, but it is made up almost entirely of small and aging ships, including various types of missile-carrying vessels and midget submarines.
The destroyer damaged in Chongjin and the ship unveiled before it, christened the Choe Hyon, represent North Korea’s efforts to upgrade the country’s naval force. They appear to share design elements with modern ships produced by Pyongyang’s ally, Russia, which has also provided advanced missile and satellite technology in recent years.
Reuters contributed to this report.
