North Korea’s latest destroyer was damaged and stuck at the launch ceremony on May 21, attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
State media reports say North Korean authorities are detaining three shipyard officials in custody in connection with the newest warship’s failed launch.
The new warship, North Korea’s second destroyer, is scheduled to be released by the Jeongjin Shipyard on May 21, the state-run South Korea Central News Agency reported.
The publication reported that the ship’s stern had slipped, but the bow was clogged during launch, causing the ship to become unbalanced. The incident reportedly left holes along several sections at the bottom of the ship.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun attended the launch ceremony and blamed the ship and the military officials, engineers and shipbuilders responsible for its launch, saying the accident was a criminal act.
The Central Military Committee of South Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party has since ordered an investigation into the incident. The investigator reportedly submitted its findings on Saturday, and then North Korean law enforcement officials detained Kang Jung-chul, the shipyard’s chief engineer. Han Kyong Hak, who led Hull Construction Workshop, and Kim Yong Hak, who handled management issues related to the launch.
In addition to reporting the arrests of these three officials, the South Korean Central News Agency reported that no additional damage has been caused to the new warship and that the repair team is moving forward to fix it.
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It weighed about 5,000 tons, and the damaged warship was North Korea’s second class.
The first ship had more success than last month. The destroyer represents the largest and most advanced warship in the North Korean fleet, and Kim described its development as a “breakthrough” in the modernization of North Korean naval forces.
North Korea continues to be an insulated society, and failing admissions are rare.
Joseph Dempsey, a military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, suggested that North Korean officials have decided to advance the failure in this case, as there is little chance of hiding the incident for a long time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
