N. Korea detains three over warship launch accident
A satellite image shows a blue tarp covering a North Korean destroyer after a failed launch during its sea trial in Chongjin. (AP pic)
PYONGYANG : North Korea has detained three people over an accident that occurred during the launch of a new warship this past week, state media reported early Sunday.
Pyongyang has said that 'a serious accident occurred' at Wednesday's launch ceremony in the eastern port city of Chongjin for a newly built 5,000-tonne naval destroyer, in which sections of the bottom of the vessel were crushed.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a 'criminal act caused by absolute carelessness'.
Those detained are Kang Jong-chol, the chief engineer at the Chongjin shipyard; Han Kyong-hak, head of the hull construction workshop; and Kim Yong-hak, deputy manager for administrative affairs, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
The KCNA report said the three were 'responsible for the accident'.
On Friday, KCNA reported that shipyard manager Hong Kil-ho had been summoned by law enforcement.
South Korea's military said US and Seoul intelligence authorities assessed that North Korea's 'side-launch attempt' of the ship failed, and the vessel was left listing in the water.
KCNA, however, reported that an 'underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship's bottom', calling the extent of the damage 'not serious'.
Based on its size and scale, the South Korean military said the newly built warship is believed to be similarly equipped to the 5,000-ton destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea unveiled last month.
Pyongyang has said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the 'most powerful weapons', and that it would 'enter into operation early next year'.
Seoul's military has said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian help – possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.
Analysts say the warship involved in Wednesday's accident may have also been constructed with Russian assistance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
South Korea police detain six Americans trying to send cash, rice to North Korea
FILE PHOTO: Members of North Korean defector group Kuensaem fill empty plastic bottles with rice and masks, during preparations for an event to send the bottles towards the North, in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean police have detained six U.S. citizens who were attempting to deliver around 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, dollar notes and Bibles to North Korea, a police official said on Friday. The group had been trying to float the bottles by sea at a border island west of the capital Seoul near the isolated North before being spotted by a military patrol, the official at the Incheon Ganghwa Police Station told Reuters. The six are suspected of violating the country's disasters and safety act through their actions in an area recently designated as a "risk zone" which prohibits activities deemed harmful to residents, the official said. "We're investigating them through an interpreter and will decide after 48 hours whether to release them or not," the official said. Since taking office earlier in June, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pledged to improve relations with neighbouring North Korea after a spike in tensions between the neighbours. Lee has suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts on the border and asked activists in the South launching helium balloons carrying leaflets criticising the authoritarian state's leaders to stop in a bid to prevent inflaming ties. Chung Dong-young, who has been nominated as South Korea's unification minister, said on Wednesday that the leaflet-laden balloons acted as "a catalyst for confrontation and hostilities" between the two Koreas, expressing hopes to rebuild communications with the North. The activists, often defectors who have fled North Korea and members of Christian groups, also sometimes try to send items such as Bibles and USB sticks loaded with South Korean TV dramas in plastic bottles by sea. North Korea has described the activists as "human scum" and retaliated last year by launching trash-filled balloons into the South and blaring anti-Seoul broadcasts along the border. Complaints by residents that the actions of activists put them at risk have led some border areas in South Korea including Ganghwa island to be designated "risk zones" since late last year, enabling authorities to step up monitoring of balloon launches and other anti-North Korea campaigns. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Ed Davies and Saad Sayeed)
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Seoul says N. Korea may send more troops to Russia
Pyongyang disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine after months of silence. (AP pic) SEOUL : North Korea may deploy additional troops to Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine in July or August and Pyongyang is continuing to supply arms to Russia, South Korean lawmakers said today, citing a briefing by the intelligence agency. The national intelligence service (NIS) believes Russia may be readying to mount a large-scale assault against Ukraine in July or August, South Korean member of parliament Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after the closed-door briefing. 'The timing of the additional deployment is that it could be as early as July or August,' Lee said, adding the agency cited a new round-up of troops for the dispatch by North Korea and a recent visit to Pyongyang by a top Russian presidential security official as grounds for its assessment. In return for North Korea sending artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia, Pyongyang is likely receiving technical advice on satellite launches and missile guidance systems, Lee said, citing the NIS briefing. After months of silence, both North Korea and Russia have disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops and the role they played in Moscow's offensive against Ukraine to reclaim the Kursk region. The two countries said the cooperation is based on the treaty signed by their leaders in June last year that includes a mutual defence pact.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- New Straits Times
North Korea opens landmark coastal Wonsan tourist zone
SEOUL: North Korea has completed construction of a massive tourist zone on its east coast, state media reported on Thursday, a key project driven by leader Kim Jong Un for years to promote tourism. With "great satisfaction", Kim attended an inaugural ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area that could accommodate about 20,000 visitors and said the country would build more large-scale tourist zones swiftly, KCNA news agency said. Kim has been rebuilding the seaside city of Wonsan, a holiday destination for locals, to turn it into a billion-dollar tourist hotspot. Development plans for Wonsan have mushroomed since they were first announced in 2014. However, while tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea not targeted by United Nations sanctions, the reclusive state did not have a major foreign partner for the Wonsan project against the backdrop of sanctions over its weapons programmes. The tourist zone will open for domestic guests from July 1, KCNA said, without mentioning foreign tourists. North Korea sealed its borders in 2020 at the start of the pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023. It has allowed Russian tourist groups into the country but its capital and other parts of the country remain closed to regular tourism, though in April it held a marathon event hosting foreign runners. Moscow and Pyongyang, both economically and politically isolated, have drawn closer as North Korea has deployed thousands of fighters and supplied ammunition, artillery and missiles for Russia's Ukraine war. The Russian ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff were invited as special guests for the Wonsan ceremony, according to KCNA. The two countries have agreed to expand cooperation on tourism, restarting a direct passenger train service between their capitals for the first time since 2020. "Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the wave of the happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort," KCNA said.
