Latest news with #Choi-Hyun
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Korea's Partially Sunk Frigate Has Already Been Ceremoniously Relaunched
New satellite imagery indicates that North Korea has held a new launch ceremony or a similar event for its second Choi-Hyun class frigate, or that one may be imminent. The warship is currently in a dry dock after a botched launch attempt in May that left it partially sunk. TWZ obtained the new images of the frigate, the name of which has not yet been publicly announced, which were taken today, from our friends at Maxar Technologies. The initial failed launch occurred on May 21 in the port city of Chongjin. The ship had been righted by June 2 and was subsequently towed to the dry dock facility in the port city of Rajin to the northeast. 'On today's imagery, a large crowd of spectators are seen on the dock next to the destroyer, ceremonial flags are seen hanging on the ship and dozens of buses are positioned nearby that brought people to the ceremony,' Maxar noted in a statement accompanying the images. In addition, the imagery shows what looks to be pavilions, viewing stands, and/or other temporary structures that align with a major event like a launch ceremony. Those structures are also not present in an earlier image from Maxar taken on June 8 after the ship's arrival in Rajin. At the time of writing, there do not appear to be any announcements about a new ceremony around the ship from North Korean state media, at least in English. As TWZ has noted from the start, state outlets in the Hermit Kingdom have been unusually proactive in reporting on the incident, likely to keep ahead of the narrative. In the imagery now available, the second Choi-Hyun class frigate looks strikingly pristine, at least externally, as well. To what extent this is just a facade is unknown, but there was significant structural damage to the superstructure plainly visible as recently as June 8, as seen below. How the North Koreans were able to achieve this 'restoration,' even superficially, is unclear. It also raises the question of whether a swap-out with the first-in-class Choi-Hyun might have occurred. However, this seems close to an impossibility based on a review of other satellite images, including of Choi-Hyun's homeport in Nampo on North Korea's western coast, all the way on the opposite side of the peninsula. That ship appears to be visible in port in available low-resolution imagery. There is also no evidence of a swap-out in low-resolution images of Raijin since June 8. Furthermore, North Korea sending a warship from one side of the Korean Peninsula to the other would be a major move that would be exceedingly hard, if not impossible, to make without incident. Maritime boundaries between North and South Korea are heavily monitored and have been the site of violent skirmishes in the past. The full scale and scope of the damage that the second frigate suffered during the failed launch, and what actual repairs have been made so far, also remain unclear. The North Koreans were able to meet an ambitious goal of having the ship at least righted within 10 days of the initial incident. It is still highly questionable whether they will be truly able to meet an additional directive to restore the ship to its prior condition before the end of this month. As TWZ previously explained: 'The ship clearly has structural damage to its superstructure, with mangled metal and bent lines appearing in the satellite images. Some areas of the ship were flooded with seawater, which would have had a major impact on any machinery and electronics in those areas. All this will take time to remediate, and we still don't know the condition of the ship's hull, although it did make the 50-mile voyage to its current resting spot.' 'This is a large and complex vessel for North Korea to repair, and the facilities at Rajin are not extensive. It is still possible that the North Koreans are getting help from China or Russia, something we had initially speculated. The latter of the two, in particular, is working extensively with Pyongyang in terms of military assistance in return for North Korea's support of its invasion of Ukraine. The location of the ship near the Russian border in an economic zone dominated by cross-border trade also points to the possibility that Moscow is lending a hand.' From the start, there has been a clear incentive for authorities in North Korea to at least claim that the ship has been fixed in record time. The initial incident was highly embarrassing and impossible to hide, with state media having made clear the furor of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over what had happened right in front of him. A number of officials from the Chongjin Shipyard have been detained as part of an ongoing investigation. At least one senior party official has been at least summoned before the state law enforcement apparatus, as well. In addition, the heavily armed Choi-Hyun class frigates represent a major new development for North Korea's navy, though there are still questions about the full extent of their capabilities, as you can read more about in our past reporting on the first of these warships. If a new launch ceremony has now been held, or is about to occur, and goes off without incident, it is likely that North Korean media will then publish propaganda pictures from the event that could offer additional clues as to the actual state of the second Choi-Hyun class frigate. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korea's Frigate That Partially Sunk Appears In Dry Dock With Mangled Superstructure
The North Korean Choi-Hyun class frigate that rolled over on its side during a botched launch ceremony attended by Kim Jong Un back on May 21st is now in a dry dock, and new satellite images give us a better view of the extent of the topside damage. The images come to us from our friends at Maxar. They show the still unnamed frigate, the second in its class, in a dry dock facility in Rajin, which sits near the border with Russia in northeastern North Korea. The ship made the roughly 50-mile voyage under tow from its birthplace in Chongjin. The vessel was successfully refloated and turned upright around June 3rd, after what was likely a very high-pressure frenzy of a recovery effort. 'Detailed underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship's bottom, the hull starboard was scratched, and a certain amount of seawater flowed into the stern section through the rescue channel,' per a report from KCNA on May 23. 'The extent of damage to the warship is not serious, and the result of the flooding process immediately after the accident is only information necessary to take practical rehabilitation measures. The above-said data have no connection with the cause of the accident and the identification of its responsibility… Experts estimated that it will take two or three days to keep the balance of the warship by pumping up the seawater from the flooded chamber and making the bow leave the slipway, and 10-odd days to restore the warship's side,' KCNA also said in its May 23 report. Somewhat stunningly, they met that 10-day goal. But Kim's other deadline was to restore the ship to its previous state by the end of June, which is pretty much impossible. Still, even the appearance that this is the case would be a win for the extremely image-conscious regime. The ship clearly has structural damage to its superstructure, with mangled metal and bent lines appearing in the satellite images. Some areas of the ship were flooded with seawater, which would have had a major impact on any machinery and electronics in those areas. All this will take time to remediate, and we still don't know the condition of the ship's hull, although it did make the 50-mile voyage to its current resting spot. This is a large and complex vessel for North Korea to repair, and the facilities at Rajin are not extensive. It is still possible that the North Koreans are getting help from China or Russia, something we had initially speculated. The latter of the two, in particular, is working extensively with Pyongyang in terms of military assistance in return for North Korea's support of its invasion of Ukraine. The location of the ship near the Russian border in an economic zone dominated by cross-border trade also points to the possibility that Moscow is lending a hand. Whatever the case, North Korea seems set on 'righting the ship' after what was an incredibly embarrassing moment on the international stage — one that was impossible to conceal due to satellite imagery. Contact the author: Tyler@
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korean Frigate Now Floating Upright After Partially Capsizing During Disastrous Launch
The North Korean frigate that rolled over and was partially submerged during its botched launch ceremony last month is now floating on its own, a new satellite image shows. It is the latest sign of progress after a mishap that embarrassed North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who attended the ceremony. This roughly fits in with North Korea's initial estimate that it would take '10-odd days to restore the warship's side.' 'Kim Jong Un's instructions to restore' the unnamed Choi-Hyun class ship ''before the end of June have been met with skepticism,' 38 North, a website devoted to the analysis of North Korea, noted on Thursday. 'Commercial satellite imagery shows workers at the port in Chongjin have taken a significant step towards that goal.' In the new image, captured by Planet Labs, the vessel can be seen moored in the middle of O-Hang harbor, away from the dock where rolled into the water on May 21. There are two smaller vessels just off its starboard side and several more a bit further away on the port side. From the quality of the image, it is difficult to determine the level of damage the ship incurred after being partially underwater for more than two weeks. The ship was turned upright earlier this week, which you can read more about in our report here. The image shows that North Korea 'has successfully completed initial salvage operations,' according to the latest analysis by Beyond Parallel, a project within the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). 'As best can be presently determined, the vessel may be listing slightly to port, numerous small marine salvage balloons are visible alongside and aboard the vessel, and what appears to be a large lift bag or temporary ramp is visible on the slide slipway,' Beyond Parallel posited. 'The slight listing and presence of the balloons suggest that the salvage operation is not complete, with continued pumping, stabilization, and refurbishment operations remaining. It remains unclear whether the vessel will remain at the Hambuk Shipyard at Chongjin or be moved to another shipyard for this work, fitting-out, and subsequent commissioning.' Beyond Parallel could not ascertain from the image how badly the ship was damaged. 'Those are great questions, but not ones we can answer right now with the limited resolution of the image,' Jennifer Jun, Associate Fellow for Imagery Analysis at CSIS told us. 'We'll continue to monitor for better collects in the coming days.' At a press conference on Thursday, a spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that additional repair work on the ship is in progress. However, he did not elaborate on whether Kim's demand that the frigate be restored by the time the next Party Central Committee meeting is held later this month will be met. This goal is outright questionable, if not impossible to meet. 'Further analysis is needed, such as whether a change has occurred in the warship's keel,' according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. 'The North Korean warship inclined at the Chongjin port returned to an upright position earlier this week and additional (restoration) efforts are believed to be in progress,' Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a regular press briefing,' Yonhap reported. 'Both South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely monitoring activities at the Chongjin port and the nearby area.' The vessel, which has an estimated displacement of 5,000 tons, is the second in its Choi Hyun class, following the Choi Hyon. That ship was officially unveiled in April. You can read all about the heavily armed class of frigates in our previous detailed analysis and follow-up report. Earlier this week, a satellite image showed that second vessel finally upright, but still at the dock and covered in blue tarps. You can catch up with our story about that here. As we noted in that story, an analysis by 38 North showed the efforts North Korea was taking to right the vessel. This is quite incredible speed. The image is partially obscured by cloud, but the capsized North Korean warship is now upright again. What makes it even more impressive is they apparently did it all manually. : Airbus Space and Defence/38 North, June — Martyn Williams (@ 2025-06-03T18:28:44.771Z 38 North suggested that the launch mechanism may have become stuck in the ship's bow, pinning it onto the land while the stern slipped into the water, after which the boat overturned. In the May 29 imagery, there appeared to be damage around the bow section. That is in stark contrast to North Korea's initial claim that the vessel was unharmed, a dubious, if not implausible assertion. In our previous report, we noted that there is not a dry dock that the vessel could be moved into readily at Chongjin if major repair work is required. However, now that the ship is floating, it could be easier to take it to a facility that can fix major hull damage. Contact the author: howard@