North Korea seems to have brought back to an upright position its damaged warship, a Choe Hyun-class destroyer, which had partially capsized during a failed launching ceremony, according to US researchers on Wednesday.
Leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the failed launch of the 5,000-tonne warship, said the accident damaged the country’s dignity and vowed to punish those found responsible.
“Kim Jong Un made stern assessment saying that it was a serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism which is out of the bounds of possibility and could not be tolerated,” KCNA had reported about the incident.
The rare public disclosure of an accident follows a report of the launch of another destroyer of a similar size in April, also attended by Kim, at the west coast shipyard of Nampho.
Several Officials Detained
Commercial satellite imagery from June 2 showed the destroyer upright for the first time since the May 21 accident, the 38 North programme, which studies the nuclear-armed North, said in a report.
Since the accident, North Korea has said it detained several officials, and Kim ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting this month.
“Commercial satellite imagery shows workers at the port in Chongjin have taken a significant step towards that goal,” 38 North said in its report.
Possible Damage To Sonar Section
Workers were observed pulling tethers, and possibly using barrage balloons, in a manual effort to right the ship, it added. The imagery shows the vessel’s bow still on land, with possible damage to its sonar section.
“To repair this, the ship will need to be moved out of the water to either a large floating drydock or graving dock once afloat,” 38 North said. “However, Chongjin’s shipyard does not offer this infrastructure.”
The east coast shipyard has turned out primarily cargo and fishing vessels and lacks significant expertise in launching large warships such as the new destroyer, other military experts have said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
