5,000 tons military vessel toppled during the launch; Kim Jong-un said incident injured the dignity of the country
North Korea managed to rebuild the war ship destroyer From the Choe Hyun class, which had partially listed during a launch ceremony.
According to the program’s report, commercial satellite images obtained on June 2 show the vessel in the correct position for the first time since the accident, which occurred on May 21.
38 North is a program of the United States Study Center, dedicated to providing technical analyzes on North Korea internal and external issues. The report, quoted by, was published on Tuesday (3.Jun.2026).
O destroyer of 5,000 tons toppled during its launch ceremony in the port of Chongjin, on the east North Korean coast. Leader Kim Jong-un, who witnessed the incident, stated that the incident “harmed the dignity of the country”. According to a report of the , He also promised to punish those responsible.
The vessel is considered a strategic military project for North Korea. Satellite images indicate possible damage to the sonar section of the vessel, although the extent of the damage is not yet known.
The North Korean government arrested several employees involved in the case. Kim also determined that the ship be renovated before a party meeting scheduled for this month.
“Commercial satellite images show that workers in the port of Chongjin took a significant step towards this goal.”said 38 North in his report.
38 North also pointed out that, “For repairs, the ship will need to be removed from water to a large floating dike or a masonry dike if the vessel is already floating ”.
However, the program stressed that “The Chongjin shipyard does not offer this infrastructure”which represents an additional challenge for the complete recovery of the vessel.
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