North Korea refloats capsized destroyer after botched launch
Photo: KNCA
North Korea claims it has successfully refloated a newly launched destroyer that capsized last month, according to state media.
The damaged warship is now set to be transferred to a different shipyard for repairs in a dry dock, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
“After restoring the balance of the destroyer early in June, the team moored it at the pier by safely conducting its end launching on Thursday afternoon,” a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
A satellite photo taken by Planet Labs on June 5 showed the formerly stricken vessel righted and seemingly floating in water away from the pier where the disastrous launch took place.
The 5,000-ton destroyer is the country’s newest warship and was meant to be a triumph of North Korea’s ambitious naval modernization effort.
Instead, a malfunction in the launch mechanism on May 21 caused the stern to slide prematurely into the water, crushing parts of the hull and leaving the bow stranded on the shipway, KCNA reported at the time. A day later, state media reported the damage was not as bad as initially feared.
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the failed launch in the northeastern city of Chongjin, called it a “criminal act,” and the government quickly said it arrested four people it claims are responsible for the launch accident.
Kim ordered officials to swiftly repair the as-yet-unnamed ship before the late-June plenary session of the ruling Workers’ Party, calling it a matter of national honor.
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