Launch happened hours after North Korea’s official press had advanced with a “serious accident” that occurred during the release ceremony of a war ship
The South Korean army said North Korea fired unidentified cruise missiles on Thursday, hours after Pyongyang admitted a “serious accident” with a new war ship.
The South Korean joint staff said it had detected the missiles near the province of Hamgyong do Sul in eastern North Korea, which were fired towards the Japan Sea.
The launch took place hours after North Korea’s official press had advanced with a “serious accident” that occurred during the launching ceremony of a war ship.
During the release ceremony of a five-ton-ton setback in the port city of Chongjin, “a serious accident occurred,” the North Korean official news agency KCNA has reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was present at the ceremony held on Wednesday in the northeast of the country, and said it was a “criminal act caused by absolute neglect” that “could not be tolerated,” said the KCNA.
Pointing to the “inexperience of command and operational negligence” during the launch, the agency said “some sections of the war ship’s bottom were crushed” and that the accident “destroyed the battle ship’s balance.”
Kim said the “irresponsible errors” of the culprits would be “approached at the Plenary Meeting of the Party Central Committee, to be held next month.”
The name of the boat was not specified. In April, Pyongyang released images of a five thousand tonword -filed ship, called Choe Hyon.
At the time, state media transmitted Kim images to participate in a ceremony with their daughter, Kim Ju-AE, that many experts believe it will be the successor in power.
North Korea claimed that the ship was equipped with the “most powerful weapons” and “would go to service early next year.”
According to some experts, Choe Hyon may be equipped with short -range tactical nuclear missiles, although North Korea has not yet proven to develop small nuclear weapons.
Public recognition of technical or administrative failures is highly unusual in North Korea.
The regime often hides incidents that can be interpreted as signs of weakness or incompetence, especially in strategic sectors such as the military.
The latest release of missiles from North Korea had happened on May 8.
At the time, the United States, Japan, and South Korea condemned the launch as a threat to peace and safety of the region and the international community.
Three countries “reaffirmed that North Korea’s launches violate the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
