North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un was left red-faced and furious after a navy destroyer was badly damaged during a botched launch as he looked on.
The hermit dictator slammed the incident as a national embarrassment and vowed to punish those responsible in a rare public admission of failure, according to state media.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) and his daughter Ju Ae attending the launch ceremony of a newly-built destroyer at the Nampo port in Nampo on April 26, 2025. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty ImagesKim suffered a humiliating blow when the newly built 5,000-ton destroyer became unbalanced during its christening at the port of Chongjin on Wednesday.
The malfunction caused the vessel to slide prematurely into the water, crushing parts of the hull and leaving the bow stuck on the shipway, Korean Central News Agency reported.
Kim, who witnessed the incident first hand, blamed military officials, scientists, and shipyard operators for perpetrating a “serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism,” according to KCNA.
Following the reports from North Korea, satellite images of the damage show the vessel lying on its side in the water, with blue tarps flung over it to conceal the country’s shame.
Kim Jong Un speaks during a launching ceremony of a new naval destroyer at a western port in Nampo, North Korea, on April 25, 2025. APSouth Korean military analysts, however, told lawmakers in Seoul that the damage was likely catastrophic.
Experts say the incident likely occurred because North Korean workers are still unfamiliar with constructing such a large warship and amateurs on how to put it in the water.
Satellite images showed that the ship was still under construction as of May 12 and was being prepared to launch sideways from the quay, a method rarely used in North Korea, according to the Pyongyang-focused 38 North website.
Despite the apparent extent of the damage, Kim reportedly ordered the destroyer to be restored within a month ahead of a ruling Workers Party meeting slated for late June to address their “irresponsible errors.”
The launch ceremony of a newly-built destroyer at the Nampo port in Nampo. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty ImagesMoon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University, said the short deadline is likely Kim’s way of saving face following the humiliating failure.
“It’s a shameful thing, but the reason why North Korea disclosed the incident is it wants to show it’s speeding up the modernization of its navy forces and expresses its confidence that it can eventually build” a greater navy, Keun-sik told the Associated Press.
The damaged vessel is believed to be in the same class as Pyongyang’s first destroyer, the Choe Hyon, which was unveiled on April 25.
The ship was allegedly designed to handle various weapons systems, including anti-air and anti-ship weapons, as well as equipped with nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles, according to state media.
North Korea has unveiled a new warship it claims is a destroyer armed with the “most powerful weapons.” KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty ImagesSeoul intelligence claim the Choe Hyon was likely built with Moscow’s assistance following last year’s strategic military partnership summit between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While North Korea’s naval forces are considered far inferior to South Korea’s, its destroyer program is still viewed as a serious threat by the West, given Kim’s nuclear arms.
Hours after releasing the report of the damaged destroyer, North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles from an area near the northeastern town of Sondok, according to South Korea’s military.
With Post wires
