A North Korean naval destroyer damaged in a botched launch last month is now upright and moored at a pier, North Korean state media said yesterday.
Pyongyang has said “a serious accident” happened in the May 21 attempt to launch the 5,000-tonne destroyer, with the mishap crushing sections of the bottom of the newly built ship.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the incident a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness,” and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the arrest of four officials in connection with the botched launch.
Photo: AP
South Korea’s military said that Washington and Seoul’s intelligence authorities believe North Korea’s so-called “side-launch attempt” of the ship failed, and the vessel was left listing in the water.
However, KCNA yesterday said that “after restoring the balance of the destroyer early in June, the team moored it at the pier” on Thursday.
Experts would now look at its hull, it said.
KCNA reported late last month that an “underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship’s bottom,” adding that the extent of the damage is “not serious.”
The South Korean military estimated that, based on its size and scale, the newly built warship is similarly equipped to the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea unveiled last month.
Pyongyang has said that the Choe Hyon is equipped with the “most powerful weapons” and would “enter into operation early next year.”
Seoul’s 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 Ukraine.
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