According to the official state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the accident occurred Wednesday when a 5,000-ton destroyer was being launched at a shipyard in Chongjin, a key industrial city in the northeast. The vessel tilted and eventually overturned after a support mechanism at the stern prematurely released as it entered the water.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly witnessed the incident, expressed severe displeasure and immediately ordered a thorough investigation.
"An investigation group of the destroyer launch accident got down to a full-scale investigation," KCNA reported. "No matter how good the state of the warship is ... those responsible for it can never evade their responsibility for the crime."
KCNA added expert opinion, saying, "It will take two or three days to keep the balance of the warship by pumping up the seawater from the flooded chamber and making the bow leave the slipway and 10-odd days to restore the warship's side."
However, Beyond Parallel, a project by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, commented that it is unclear yet whether the vessel received damage and how long it would take to salvage it.
The damaged destroyer is reportedly identical to the "Choe Hyon," another multipurpose destroyer launched by North Korea last month.
reporter
Im Yoon-seo
lyseo0330@ajupress.com
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