North Korea’s new destroyer was damaged during a launching ceremony at the port of Cheongjin in the northeast of the country. It happened on 21 May in front of the country’s leader Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media reported.
No details were given about what caused the problem, the severity of the damage or whether anyone was hurt.
Kim called what happened “a crime caused by carelessness,” North Korea’s Central Telegraphic Agency reported.
The situation will be reviewed at a meeting of the powerful Workers’ Party in June. By then, Kim has demanded that the ship be rebuilt.
There is little public data about the built destroyer. The DPRK has not disclosed its name. Its stated displacement is five thousand tonnes. If it can be rebuilt, it will be one of the two largest ships in the North Korean navy.
The damaged vessel was probably of the same class as the country’s first destroyer unveiled on 25 April, which experts estimated as North Korea’s largest and most modern warship to date.
The DPRK has been building up its armament in recent years, in particular developing its missile programme, claiming threats from the United States and its allies in Asia.
In March, the DPRK launched several ballistic missiles into the sea after South Korea and the United States began joint military exercises.
According to Western intelligence reports, North Korea has exported its short-range ballistic missiles, among other weapons, to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine.
Pyongyang and Moscow, which ratified the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in November 2024, deny arms shipments, but recently confirmed the participation of North Korean troops in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region.