North Korea has raised a capsized warship and moored it at a port in the country’s northeast for repair, after the vessel was damaged during a failed inaugural launch in May, the country’s state news media reports.
KCNA reported that “after restoring the balance of the destroyer early in June, the team moored it at the pier” in the city of Chongjin on Thursday.
The report on Friday aligns with South Korea’s military assessments and recent commercial satellite images, which indicated that the 5,000-tonne destroyer has been restored to an upright position following the “serious accident” on May 21, when it suffered damage to its hull after a transport cradle detached prematurely during a launch ceremony.
The failed side-launch of the ship, which was witnessed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, also left the vessel partially capsized in a port.
Kim described the incident as a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness”. As part of a probe into the accident, four officials were arrested and accused of tarnishing North Korea’s national dignity, according to KCNA.
Experts will now examine the warship’s hull for the next stage of restorations, to be carried out at Rajin Dockyard over the coming week to 10 days, KCNA said. The ship’s full restoration is expected to be completed before a ruling party meeting later this month.
Jo Chun Ryong, a senior official from North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, was quoted by KCNA as saying that the “perfect restoration of the destroyer will be completed without fail” before the deadline set by the country’s ruler, Kim.
The damaged warship is North Korea’s second known destroyer and is seen as a crucial asset in Kim’s goal of modernising his country’s naval forces.
The South Korean military estimates, based on its size and scale, that the new warship is similarly equipped to the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea also unveiled last month.
Pyongyang has said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the “most powerful weapons”, and that it would “enter into operation early next year”.
South Korea’s military said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian assistance, possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of soldiers to help Moscow fight Ukraine.
Kim has framed the modernisation of his military as a response to threats from the US and South Korea, who are key allies and regularly conduct military drills together.
The North Korean leader has also said that the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine would be the next step in strengthening his country’s navy.
On Wednesday, Kim met with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang in the latest sign of the countries’ deepening ties, which were elevated when they signed a mutual defence pact in June last year that obliges them to provide immediate military assistance to each other using “all means” necessary if either faces “aggression”.
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