North Korea’s second naval destroyer was damaged in a failed launch on Wednesday, state media reported yesterday, sparking fury from leader Kim Jong-un, who called it a “criminal act” that could not be tolerated.
Kim, who witnessed the failed launch of the 5,000-tonne destroyer, excoriated the accident as caused by “carelessness” that tarnished national dignity, and ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting next month, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The report did not say whether there were any casualties.
Photo: 2025 PLANET LABS PBC / AFP
It is not common for North Korea to acknowledge military-related setbacks, but observers said the disclosure of the failed ship launch suggests that Kim is serious about his naval advancement program and confident of ultimately achieving that objective.
The accident happened when the destroyer was being eased into the water in a so-called side launch, a maneuver that was risky for a ship that size given the technical and financial challenges North Korea faced, military analysts said.
The mishap likely occurred in front of a large crowd at the northeastern port of Chongjin, increasing the public humiliation for Kim, they said.
The incident was caused by a loss of balance while the vessel was being launched and sections of the bottom of the warship were crushed, KCNA said, without providing more details of the damage sustained.
“Kim Jong-un made stern assessment saying that it was a serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism ... and could not be tolerated,” it reported.
The accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse,” Kim said, adding that an immediate restoration of the destroyer was “not merely a practical issue, but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state.”
South Korea’s military said the ship was lying on its side in the water.
The North fired multiple cruise missiles from an area south of the port around the time the accident was reported, Seoul’s military said.
The rare public disclosure of an accident follows a report of the launch of another destroyer of a similar size last month, also attended by Kim, at the west coast shipyard of Nampho.
Yang Wuk, an Asan Institute for Policy Studies military expert, said the botched launch of the country’s largest warship was embarrassing for the country.
“The fact that this kind of accident occurred and became public would be deeply humiliating for North Korea,” Yang said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS