SEOUL, May 23 (UPI) — North Korea began a full-scale investigation into an accident that damaged a new warship at its launch ceremony this week, state-run media reported Friday, with investigators vowing that those culpable “can never evade their responsibility for the crime.”
The accident occurred on Wednesday at the Chongjin Shipyard during the launch ceremony for the 5,000-ton destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was in attendance, called the incident a “criminal act” and said it “could not be tolerated.”
South Korea’s military assessed afterward that the North had attempted to “side-launch” the vessel by sliding it into the water sideways rather than launching it from a drydock, a technique analysts believe Pyongyang had never used before.
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus Space and shared on X on Thursday by British research organization Open Source Centre showed the warship listing on its side, draped by blue tarpaulins. OSC called the coverings “a visible attempt to contain the disaster.”
While the North’s initial media account on Thursday claimed that sections of the ship’s hull were crushed during the launch mishap, Friday’s report in state-run Korean Central News Agency downplayed the damage.
“Detailed underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship’s bottom,” the KCNA report said.
The hull starboard was scratched and seawater flowed into the stern section, KCNA said, calling the extent of the damage “not serious.”
It would take around 10 days to restore the warship’s damaged side, the report added.
Kim Jong Un blamed government officials, engineers and shipyard workers for the incident, KCNA reported on Thursday. He warned that their “irresponsible errors” would be dealt with at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party central committee next month.
The accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse,” Kim said, and ordered the ship to be restored before the June meeting.
Hong Kil Ho, manager of the Chongjin Shipyard, was summoned by authorities, the KCNA report said Friday.
The ruling party’s Central Military Commission instructed investigators to determine the cause of the accident and find those responsible for it, KCNA said.
“No matter how good the state of the warship is, the fact that the accident is an unpardonable criminal act remains unchanged, and those responsible for it can never evade their responsibility for the crime,” the military commission said.
The destroyer was the second warship introduced by North Korea in recent weeks, following the launch of its 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer at the Nampo Shipyard on April 25. That vessel is armed with a wide range of weapons, including supersonic cruise missiles and strategic cruise missiles, according to North Korean reports.
Photos released by the North showed that the Choe Hyon’s missile and radar systems resemble those found on Russian vessels, prompting speculation that Pyongyang received technical assistance from Moscow in its development.
North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs.
The warship damaged during the launch accident appears to be similarly equipped to the Choe Hyon, South Korea’s military said Thursday.