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A major accident damaged part of a new naval destroyer during its launch ceremony in North Korea, state media reported, angering leader Kim Jong-un, who called the mishap a “criminal act” that caused the “collapse” of the nation’s dignity.
At a ceremony to launch the new 5,000-tonne destroyer in the eastern port city of Chongjin on Wednesday “a serious accident occurred,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Blaming “inexperienced command and operational carelessness” during the launch, which Kim attended, KCNA said the incident left “some sections of the warship’s bottom crushed”.
It said the accident managed to “destroy the balance of the warship.” South Korea’s military said the warship was lying sideways in the water.
Kim watched the entire incident and said the accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse”, adding an immediate restoration of the destroyer was “not merely a practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state.”
He said the “irresponsible errors” of officials responsible would be “dealt with at the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee to be convened next month”.
Pyongyang unveiled another 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel named Choe Hyon last month. At the time, state media ran images of Kim attending a ceremony with his daughter Ju Ae, considered by many experts to be his likely successor.
North Korea claimed the vessel was equipped with the “most powerful weapons”, and that it would “enter into operation early next year”.
Some analysts said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles – although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its nukes.
The South Korean military has said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian help, possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Kyiv.
Chongjin, the North Korean city where the launch ceremony was held, is conveniently close to Russia’s Vladivostok port.
In a report last week on preparations for the launch of the accident ship, US-based 38 North said it appeared the ship would be side-launched from the quay, a method not previously observed in North Korea.
“The use of this launch method could be one of necessity, as the quay where the ship is being built does not have an incline,” the 38 North report said. Commercial satellite imagery of the shipyard the day before the launch showed the destroyer positioned on the quay with support vessels by its side.
With Reuters
