Seoul: North Korea’s second naval destroyer was damaged in a failed launch this week, state media reported on Thursday, sparking fury from leader Kim Jong Un, who wants bigger warships to deal with what he calls escalating US-led threats against his country.
It’s not common for North Korea to acknowledge military-related setbacks, but observers say the disclosure of the failed ship launch suggests that Kim is serious about his naval advancement programme and confident of ultimately achieving that objective.
During a launching event at the northeastern port of Chongjin on Wednesday, the newly built 5,000-ton-class destroyer
became unbalanced and was punctured in its bottom sections after a transport cradle on the stern section slid off first and became stuck, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA didn’t provide details on what caused the problem, the severity of the damage or whether anyone was injured.
According to KCNA, Kim, who was present at the ceremony, blamed military officials, scientists and shipyard operators for a “serious accident and criminal act
caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism”.
Kim called for a ruling Workers’ Party meeting slated for late June to address their “irresponsible errors”.
The destroyers could carry nuclear-capable missiles
“It’s a shameful thing. But the reason why North Korea disclosed the incident is it wants to show it’s speeding up the modernisation of its navy forces and expresses its confidence that it can eventually build” a greater navy, said Moon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University.
Moon suspected the incident likely happened because North Korean workers aren’t yet familiar with such a large warship and were rushed to put it in the water.