North Korea has detained shipyard officials responsible for a recent failed launch of a new warship that left a 5,000-ton North Korean naval destroyer damaged, according to state media.
Law enforcement officials arrested the chief engineer of the Chongjin Shipyard, among others, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un was reportedly distraught after he witnessed the failed launch that mangled the warship, saying the accident damaged the country’s dignity and promising to punish those responsible.
Kim Jong Un has ordered the ship to be restored before a ruling party meeting in June. (Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS)
A flatcar guiding the ship had failed to move during the launch, throwing the warship off balance and crushing parts of its bottom before the stern eventually slid down the launch slipway into the water.
Kim has ordered the ship to be restored before a ruling party meeting in June.
The rehabilitation plan was moving forward, KCNA reported.
Kim Jong Un was reportedly distraught after he witnessed the failed launch that mangled the warship. (KCNA via REUTERS)
North Korea’s armed forces “will thoroughly contain and control all sorts of military threats from the enemy countries,” amid U.S. military buildup in the region, according to KCNA, citing the policy chief at the defense ministry.
Under Kim’s rule, North Korea has focused on building an arsenal of military weapons in what it views as a response to Western aggression.
Reuters contributed to this report.
