North Korea has reportedly repaired and relaunched its second naval destroyer, just weeks after it capsized during an initial launch ceremony.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim Jong Un attended a lavish ceremony on Thursday, boarding the warship and declaring that no obstacle could impede North Korea’s naval ambitions amid ongoing “hostilities” led by the US.
The secretive nature of North Korea makes independent verification of the ship’s repair virtually impossible.
There are doubts among outside observers regarding the functionality of the ship’s engine, weapons systems, and electronic equipment, given that parts of the warship were submerged for approximately two weeks.
The initial failed launch on May 21 reportedly triggered fury from Kim, who has pledged to strengthen the nation’s navy in response to what he perceives as escalating threats from the US and its allies.
Kim attributed the incident to criminal negligence and instructed officials to repair the warship before a Workers’ Party meeting in late June.
Subsequently, North Korean authorities detained four officials, including the vice director of the Workers’ Party’s munitions industry department, in connection with the botched launch.
In his Thursday speech, Kim said the country’s two destroyers will play a big role in improving the navy’s operational capabilities, according to KCNA.
Kim reiterated previous claims that his naval buildup is a justified response to perceived threats posed by the US and South Korea, which in recent years have expanded their combined military exercises and updated their deterrence strategies to counter Kim’s advancing nuclear program.
He said the North will respond to such external threats with “overwhelming military action.”
“It will not be long before the enemy nations themselves experience just how provoking and unpleasant it is to sit back and watch as our warships freely move near the edges of their sovereign waters,” Kim said.
Kim said a North Korean shipyard worker died during the repairs and offered his “deepest condolences” to his family, including his wife and son who were present at the launch event.
Outside experts earlier said it remained unclear how severely the 5,000-tonne -class destroyer was damaged and questioned North Korea’s claim it needed 10 days to pump out the seawater, set the ship upright and fix its damages it described as “not serious.”
Previous satellite photos showed the North Korean destroyer lying on its side at the northeastern port of Chongjin, with its stern partly underwater. Last week, North Korea said it had righted the warship and would move it to the Rajin port, which is further north of Chongjin and close to the border with Russia, for the next stage of its restoration works.
“Considering the time they needed to raise the vessel, they would have had less than two weeks to carry out the real repair work,” said Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “Would that have been enough time to completely fix everything and bring the vessel to a state where it’s operationally capable? I think that’s highly unlikely.”
Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said what was likely flooded in the North Korean ship were its engine room, missile launch tubes and anti-air weapons systems, which all involve electronic systems that are highly vulnerable to damages if exposed to seawater.
Lee said the ship’s move to Rajin implies Russian experts have likely been assisting North Korea with repairs.
Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia has been flourishing significantly in recent years, with the North supplying troops and ammunitions to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The damaged warship was in the same class as the country’s first destroyer unveiled in April, which experts assessed as the North’s largest and most advanced warship to date. Experts say the North’s two destroyers were both likely built with Russian help.
Kim Jong Un said the ruling Workers’ Party has confirmed plans to build two more 5,000-tonne -class destroyers next year, according to Friday’s KCNA dispatch.
Satellite imagery indicated North Korea had attempted to launch the second destroyer sideways, a method it had never used for warships.
Many observers said it would be more difficult to maintain the balance of a big warship because it carries heavy weapons systems. But they said North Korea won’t likely repeat the same mistake when it launches its third and fourth destroyers.
According to North Korea’s timetable, its first two destroyers are to be deployed next year.
Despite its growing nuclear arsenal and huge 1.2 million-member standing army, North Korea’s naval and aerial forces have been considered inferior to those of South Korea’s.
But North Korea’s planned deployment of a series of 5,000-tonne -class destroyers would pose “really a serious threat” to South Korea, whose navy hasn’t still prepared itself to deal with such big, advanced enemy warships, according to Lee, the expert.
Earlier this week, the new liberal South Korean government led by President Lee Jae-myung halted frontline propaganda broadcasts as its first concrete step toward easing tensions between the rivals.
North Korea hasn’t responded formally to the measure.
