North Korea’s Warship Launch Ends in Disaster as Kim Jong Un Watches

SEOUL, May 22 (Reuters) – A major accident occurred on Wednesday during the launch of a new North Korean warship while Kim Jong Un was attending the event, with the isolated state’s leader calling it a “criminal act” that could not be tolerated, state media KCNA reported.

Kim, who witnessed the failed launch of the 5,000-ton destroyer, excoriated the accident as caused by “carelessness” that tarnished national dignity, and ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting in June, KCNA said on Thursday.

The report did not say whether there were any casualties.

The accident happened when the destroyer was being eased into the water in a so-called side launch, a maneuver that was risky for a ship that size given the technical and financial challenges the North faced, military analysts said.

The mishap likely occurred in front of a large crowd at the northeastern port of Chongjin, increasing the public humiliation for Kim, they said.

KCNA said the incident was caused by a loss of balance while the vessel was being launched and sections of the bottom of the warship were crushed, but did not give more details of damage sustained.

“Kim Jong Un made stern assessment saying that it was a serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism … and could not be tolerated,” KCNA reported.

The accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse,” Kim said, adding an immediate restoration of the destroyer was “not merely a practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state.”

South Korea’s military said the ship was now lying on its side in the water.

The North fired multiple cruise missiles from an area south of the port around the time the accident was reported, Seoul’s military said.

“DEEPLY HUMILIATING”

The rare public disclosure of an accident follows a report of the launch of another destroyer of a similar size in April, also attended by Kim, at the west coast shipyard of Nampho.

North Korea has previously experienced accidents such as a satellite launch failure and apartment building collapse that have been subsequently used to promote the role of the leadership in correcting the problems.

The 5,000-ton destroyers launched by North Korea this year are the country’s largest warships yet, part of leader Kim’s push to upgrade its naval power with vessels capable of carrying and launching dozens of missiles.

In a report last week on preparations for the latest launch, U.S.-based 38 North said it appeared the ship would be side-launched from the quay.

Such a method has not been previously observed in launching warships in North Korea, but it was likely chosen because the shipyard did not have enough space or an incline to direct the vessel’s stern first into the water, military analysts said.

The North also lacked floating or dry docks that are common in advanced shipbuilding states, with a stern launch normally requiring more sophisticated equipment, retired South Korean submarine commander Choi Il said.

“Pushing from the side is the most basic, simplest and cheapest” if done right, he said.

Yang Wuk, an Asan Institute for Policy Studies military expert, said the botched launch of the country’s largest warship was embarrassing for the country.

“The fact that this kind of accident occurred and became public would be deeply humiliating for North Korea,” Yang said.

Commercial satellite imagery of the shipyard the day before the launch showed the destroyer positioned on the quay with support vessels by its side and its missile tube magazines exposed.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Jack Kim, Josh Smith, Hyunsu Yim, Ju-min Park, Daewoung Kim; Editing by Ed Davies, Stephen Coates and Saad Sayeed)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.

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