A newly built North Korean destroyer that was damaged during a launch attempt this week may have suffered irreparable harm, analysts said, as the communist nation’s authorities moved to arrest those responsible.
According to a Thursday report from the Beyond Parallel project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, the ship “may ultimately prove to be a complete loss.”
North Korea’s latest naval destroyer has been significantly damaged prior to its launch. In a rare acknowledgment, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported yesterday an incident occurred with a new destroyer in Chongjin, which was close to being launched. pic.twitter.com/0PfuqehYnF
— Open Source Centre (@osc_london) May 22, 2025
The Washington-based think tank said the launch failure is “an embarrassment to (leader) Kim Jong Un and North Korea’s Korean People’s Navy,” and would disrupt Kim’s plans to turn the navy from a coastal defense force to a blue-water one, capable of “strategic offensive operations.”
The attempted launch of North Korea’s second Choe Hyon-class guided missile destroyer went awry at the Hambuk (Chongjin) Shipyard on Wednesday. The 5,000 ton warship tipped sideways, leaving one side of its hull submerged.
Kim called it a “grave and unacceptable accident” and a “serious criminal act,” the state-run news agency reported Thursday.
CSIS said the vessel’s stern appears to have swung into the harbor after wheeled bogies supporting the destroyer’s frame reportedly slid off their tracks, while the bow remained stuck on the shipyard’s side slipway.
Satellite imagery shows the warship now covered in blue tarpaulins and surrounded by crane barges and support vessels, with multiple cranes stationed onshore.
‘Hasty and flawed launch’
North Korea acknowledged the launch failure, attributing it to “inexperienced command and operational carelessness.” The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported that holes in parts of the warship’s bottom disrupted its balance, suggesting a possible hull breach during the failed launch.
Outside military experts raised doubts about the vessel’s survivability. Moon Keun-sik, a former South Korean submarine captain and visiting professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, told Radio Free Asia that the destroyer appeared to have fully capsized. He said the severe tilt likely indicates a significant hull breach, possibly allowing seawater to reach inside and disable the engine.
While the side-launch method that was used on Wednesday is not technically demanding, Moon said that North Korea’s rush to complete the launch may have compromised safety. He said that repairs could take longer than Pyongyang has claimed.
“The damage to the rear could be extensive,” Moon said. “If saltwater entered the engine compartment, the consequences could be severe. It seems the regime was under pressure to showcase its naval capabilities and cooperation with Russia, which likely led to a hasty and ultimately flawed launch.”
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. James Fanell, who previously served as the chief of intelligence for the U.S. 7th Fleet and Pacific Fleet, told RFA that the incident may reflect internal pressures within North Korea’s naval development program.
“It is reported the North Korean Navy launched their first new destroyer using the floating dry-dock method, which worked well,” he said. “Why Hambuk Shipyard was used to launch the second destroyer via the side-way gravitational method could be a reflection of the pressure Kim Jong Un has put on the North Korean [military] to more rapidly grow the size of the North Korean Navy.”
In response to the failure, Kim Jong Un issued harsh criticism, targeting multiple institutions, including the Munitions Industry Department, the State Academy of Sciences, Kim Chaek University of Technology, and the Central Ship Design Institute, North Korean state media reported.
North Korea says no holes in ship’s bottom
While North Korea has shown uncharacteristic candor in reporting the mishap at all, its state media appeared to downplay the extent of the damage. After initially acknowledging a hull breach, KCNA said Friday that inspections found “no holes in the ship’s bottom” and only limited seawater intrusion through an aft compartment.
The North Korean government estimated that it would take two to three days to drain the flooded compartments and separate the bow from the slipway to restore balance to the warship. Repairing the starboard hull would then require approximately 10 additional days.
On Thursday, an official at South Korea’s Ministry of Unification told reporters in Seoul that Kim’s reported instruction to repair the destroyer before a June plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party suggests the damage may not be irrecoverable.
Experts remain unconvinced. The future of the vessel — and of Kim’s timeline for transforming the navy into a blue-water force —now appears uncertain.
Shipyard manager being questioned
KCNA reported on Friday that an official investigation team composed of government agencies and technical experts has begun a full-scale probe into the launch failure.
KCNA said that based on preliminary findings, the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Military Commission has instructed legal authorities to arrest individuals deemed clearly responsible for the incident. The Chongjin shipyard’s general manager, Hong Gil-ho, was summoned for questioning on Thursday, it said.
rfa.org (Article Sourced Website)
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