Full restoration of the North Korean navy destroyer is expected before a major communist party meeting later this month.North Korea has raised a capsized warship and moored it at a port in the country’s northeast for repair, after the vessel was damaged during a failed inaugural launch in May, the country’s state news media reports.
KCNA reported that “after restoring the balance of the destroyer early in June, the team moored it at the pier” in the city of Chongjin on Thursday.
The report on Friday aligns with South Korea’s military assessments and recent commercial satellite images, which indicated that the 5,000-tonne destroyer has been restored to an upright position following the “serious accident” on May 21, when it suffered damage to its hull after a transport cradle detached prematurely during a launch ceremony.
The failed side-launch of the ship, which was witnessed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, also left the vessel partially capsized in a port.
Kim described the incident as a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness”. As part of a probe into the accident, four officials were arrested and accused of tarnishing North Korea’s national dignity, according to KCNA. Advertisement
Experts will now examine the warship’s hull for the next stage of restorations, to be carried out at Rajin Dockyard over the coming week to 10 days, KCNA said. The ship’s full restoration is expected to be completed before a ruling party meeting later this month.
Jo Chun Ryong, a senior official from North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, was quoted by KCNA as saying that the “perfect restoration of the destroyer will be c …
