North Korea‘s leader Kim Jong Un was left fuming on Wednesday after the launch of his newest warship went spectacularly wrong in what he described as a “criminal act” that had brought shame on the nation.
Part of the new 5,000-ton destroyer’s hull was crushed when the vessel twisted during the launch, causing the stern to slide prematurely into the water and leaving the bow stuck on the slipway, the state-run KCNA news agency reported.
Kim Jong Un, who attended the launch, said the accident was caused by the “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” of the state institutions in charge of building the ship and vowed punishment for those involved. The failed launch, he said, had “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse”.
Jong Un has demanded the destroyer be repaired before late June, when there is a plenary session of the Workers’ Party Central Committee—and the North Korean leader said the responsible parties would be held accountable for the failed launch at the meeting.
But the South Korean military said the vessel had been left lying on its side in the water near the launch site and that the short deadline for repairs was almost impossible, CNN reported.
A contributing factor to the failed launch may have been the decision to side-launch the vessel from the dock into the water. While a common method among shipbuilders, it is believed to be the first time a side-launch has been attempted in North Korea, according to 38 North.
The ship was intended to become the second of North Korea’s recent naval additions after another destroyer, the Choe Hyon, was launched in April.
The new additions represent a significant upgrade to Pyongyang’s naval fleet, which had been mostly comprised of Soviet-era vessels.
North Korean officials said the Choe Hyon would enter operation “early next year,” and boasted that it was laden with the “most powerful weapons,” without providing specifics.
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