North Korean warship has 'serious accident' at launch

by · UPI

SEOUL, May 22 (UPI) -- A 5,000-ton North Korean destroyer suffered a "serious accident" during a launch ceremony, state media reported Thursday, with leader Kim Jong Un calling it a "criminal act" and warning of consequences.

The accident took place Wednesday at the Chongjin Shipyard on the country's east coast, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Due to "inexperienced command and operational carelessness," a malfunction in the launch mechanism caused the ship's stern to prematurely slide into the water, the KCNA report said.

Some sections of the hull were crushed, upsetting the balance of the warship and preventing the bow from leaving the shipway, the report added.

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After witnessing the accident, Kim Jong Un called it a "criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism which is out of the bounds of possibility and could not be tolerated," according to KCNA.

Kim blamed officials at multiple institutions involved in the ship's design and construction, including the government's Munitions Industry Department, the Mechanical Institute of the State Academy of Sciences and Kim Chaek University of Technology, for the incident. 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.

Wednesday's event marked the second introduction of a new warship by North Korea in recent weeks, with Pyongyang unveiling 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.

"It is highly likely that North Korea received up-to-date military technology from Russia in exchange for its troop dispatch," South Korean lawmaker Yu Yong-weon said after the Choe Hyon was unveiled.

The warship damaged during the launch accident appears to be similarly equipped to the previous vessel, South Korea's military said Thursday.

"Considering the size and scale, [the vessel] is expected to have similar equipment to the Choe Hyon," Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung-joon said during a press briefing Thursday.

Lee said that the North attempted to side-launch the warship from the quay -- a technique that U.S.-based analysis website 38 North said last week had never been observed in North Korea.

"The use of this launch method could be one of necessity, as the quay where the ship is being built does not have an incline," the 38 North report said.

"We have assessed that the side launching failed," Lee said, adding that the vessel remains partially capsized in the water.

Hours after it announced the warship accident, Pyongyang fired multiple cruise missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan, the South's military said.

In a text message sent to reporters, the JCS said that it detected the launch at around 9:00 a.m. from the area of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province.

"Detailed specifications are being analyzed by South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities," the JCS said. "Our military is maintaining the posture to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation while keeping a close eye on developments in North Korea."

The launch was the second by Pyongyang this month, following its test of short-range ballistic missiles on May 8.