North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has condemned the failed launch of a naval vessel after it crashed upon its public reveal.
The accident occurred on Wednesday during the floating of a new warship while Kim was in attendance.
Following the incident, the state’s supreme leader called it an intolerable “criminal act,” its state media, the Korean Central news Agency (KCNA) reported, according to Reuters.
Kim claimed the failed launch of the 5,000-ton destroyer was caused by “carelessness” that sullied his country’s national dignity.
He ordered that the ship be restored before a ruling party meeting in June, KCNA said on Thursday. The report did not say if there were any casualties.
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The accident happened while the ship was being lowered into the water in what is known as a side launch.
Military analysts told Reuters that the manoeuvre was quite risky given the substantial size of the ship and the technical and financial challenges North Korea faces.
The mishap likely occurred in front of a large crowd at the northeastern port of Chongjin, increasing the public humiliation for Kim, the analysts added.
In a report last week detailing the ship’s launch preparations, U.S.-based 38 North said it appeared the ship would be side-launched from the quay – a method that had not been previously observed in North Korea.
A 24-hour Yonhap news TV broadcast at Seoul Railway Station showing a news broadcast with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un observing the launch of a strategic cruise missile during a drill by the Korean People’s Army (KPA), on the coast of the ‘West Sea of Korea,’ or Yellow Sea, in North Korea.
Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Image
Meanwhile, military analysts told the news outlet that the method was most likely chosen because the shipyard where the vessel was housed did not have sufficient space or an incline to safely launch it stern-first into the water.
The KCNA said the incident was caused by a loss of balance during the vessel’s launch.
Parts of the bottom of the warship were crushed, according to the agency, though it did not give more details of the damage sustained. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC seen by The Associated Press appeared to show the vessel rolled onto its side, positioned diagonally from the dock, with most of its hull submerged and draped in blue covers.
“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 also reported.
The accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse,” Kim said, adding that an immediate restoration of the destroyer was “not merely a practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state.”
North Korea has experienced accidents of a similar nature in the past, including a satellite launch failure and an apartment building collapse.
The 5,000-ton destroyers launched by North Korea this year are its biggest warships to date, and are part of Kim’s efforts to build the country’s naval capacity with ships capable of carrying and launching dozens of missiles.
— with files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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