North Korea announced this Friday the opening of a large -scale investigation to clarify the causes of the accident that frustrated on Wednesday the launch of a new 5,000 -ton destructive ship. According to local media, the incident unleashed the fury of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, who and demanded exemplary punishments for those responsible.
The KCNA state agency states that Pyongyang has constituted a special team formed by state prosecutors and experts in the naval sector to find out the reasons for what happened in the Chongjin shipyard (on the northeast coast), when, in the middle of the launch ceremony, the ship overturned and partially sank. The investigations are already outlined, according to several analysts, as an attempt to blame for the Fiasco to the intermediate controls of the regime.
According to a report cited by KCNA, the research group examined the interior of the ship and its underwater structure and concluded that, although no perforations were detected at the bottom of the helmet, the starring side presented scratches and had leaked “a certain amount of sea water” in the stern section. It also indicates the report that the ship has not suffered serious structural damage or significant economic losses, and does not refer to injuries or fatalities.
North Korean experts estimate that between two and three days to restore the balance of the ship, emptying the camera flooded and releasing the bow of the sliding ramp; The repair of the side will require about ten days. The document, which has been reviewed by the Central Military Commission, does not mention whether the ruling was due to the use of a lateral launch – disappointing the ship perpendicular to the dock – a method that North Korea had not used before during the warship of warship.
There are no images of the incident, but the analysts consulted by the media believe that it probably took place before a great crowd, which accentuated the public humiliation of Kim Jong-un. It also supposes a direct blow to one of its personal projects, to modernize the Navy, historically considered the weakest link. The failure occurred after the slip ramp was detached before planned, which caused the vessel stern to precipitate the water in a uncontrolled way while the bow was trapped on the ground. As a result, the ship partially overturned.
The wrecked ship, of which the name is unknown, is the second new generation destroyer that the most hermetic country on the planet presents the world in a matter of weeks. In April he launched the Choe Hyonthe first warship of this type built from scratch in many years and which, according to the North Korean media, is equipped with “the most powerful weapons” of the national arsenal. According to the South Korean army, the damaged destroyer seems to have similar equipment.
According to some experts, the incorporation of this new class of destroyers would allow Pyongyang to expand their defensive strategy, awarding them a support role in the deployment and protection of.
The newspaper Rodong Sinmunthe voice of the propaganda of the Workers Party, attributed what happened to an “inexperienced command” and the “operational negligence.” The North Korean president, on the other hand, described the ruling as an “act that has severely damaged in an instant” and ordered that it be repaired before the end of June, date on which a plenary session of the party will be held. Satellite images published this Friday show the ship still overturned next to the dock, covered with blue tarps and surrounded by boats that work counterreloj to repair it.
Although the conclusions of the preliminary report minimize the scope of the damages, the Central Military Commission has insisted that the incident must be addressed with the maximum seriousness and has demanded to identify those responsible to “advise an exemplary blow to recklessness, irresponsibility and anti -scientific empiricism”. “The seriousness of the fact does not change, however good the state of the ship is. It is an unforgivable criminal act, and those who caused it cannot avoid their responsibility,” said the main military leadership body of the party in a statement and that is chaired by Kim Jong-un.
Arrested and interrogated
North Korean authorities have begun to stop and interrogate the alleged direct responsible for the event, including Hong Kil-Ho, director of the Chongjin shipyard, Kcna details. The explicit signaling of Hong – something unusual in the state narrative – suggests that it could become an atoning goat of a ruling that has visibly bother the country’s leader. In a nation where the official discourse, the mere fact of having quickly published the news of an error of this type had already caught the attention of many analysts.
“I find it interesting that Pyongyang, instead of hiding the failure, has told its population,” says Chun In-bum, general retired from the South Korean army. “I think this reflects a new form of confidence in the North Korean political system, and that worries me,” warns this analyst on military affairs. “Historically, closed societies such as North Korean are supported by an absolute truth that presents their reality as perfect. But now, for whatever reason, they are allowing their people to know that their system is not infallible. It would be interesting to understand,” Chun reflects.
