Kim Jong un angry about the failed launch of North Korea's destroyer
Kim Jong un angry about the failed launch of North Korea's destroyer
Seoul, South Korea - North Korea's latest warship was badly damaged during a baptismal ceremony on Wednesday. Guide Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the incident, described the event as shameful for the nation's prestige and swore to punish those responsible, the state media reported.
technical defect ensures serious damage
In a rare admission of defects, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that an error in the starting mechanism led to the rear of the still nameless 5,000-ton destroyer slipping into the water prematurely. As a result, parts of the fuselage were crushed, while the bug remained on the slip.
blame and political consequences
KIM described the failure of the start as a "criminal act" and blamed several state institutions, including the ammunition industry, the Kim Chaek University of Technology and the Central Schiffbüro, which in his opinion failed through "absolute negligence" and "irresponsibility".
episodes for the marine development
After an analysis of the South Korean military, the ship is on the side in the water, as the spokesman for the chief of staff (JCS), Lee Sung-Joon, announced in a press conference on Thursday. Marine analysts assessed the damage by such a starting error as "catastrophic". The state media initially did not publish pictures of the incident.
Sal Mercliano, professor at Campbell University in North Carolina and expert on maritime matters, told CNN: "If the ship does not move evenly, the tensions will tear apart the fuselage." Carl Schuster, a marine analyst in Hawaii, was also of this opinion and added that the tensions could forgive the fuselage and cause cracks, possibly even break the keel, depending on where the greatest pressure occurs.
a setback for the marine decorative
The failure at the start is a setback for what analysts as North Korea's most ambitious modernization program of the Navy have considered for decades. The damaged ship should be the second large surface ship, which North Korea briefly presented in April after the disclosure of the Choe Hyon in April, the first newly constructed destroyer in the country for decades.
The Choe Hyon was presented as the “Warship of the New Generation”, accompanied by great attention from the state media, which reported that it would strengthen the maritime skills, given the growing threats claimed by Pyongyang by the USA and South Korea. Western defense analyst noticed that the Choe Hyon deviates from the aging ships from the Soviet era that dominated the Korean Volksmarine.
political responsibility and national honor
Lee, the spokesman for the South Korean military, said that the ship damaged during the incident was similarly equipped as the Choe Hyon. Kim's instructions to repair the damaged ship until the ruling workers' party at the end of June shows that he sees the matter as a question of national honor. However, analysts warn that it will be almost impossible to keep Kim's deadline in view of the potential damage.
lack of infrastructures and possible delays
The retired South Korean Admiral Kim Duk-Ki said that North Korea obviously does not have the necessary infrastructure, such as a dry dock, to let a 5,000-ton destroyer into the water, let alone repair it. A dry dock is a furnishing system that can be filled with water to let a ship swim or be drained to build or repair it.
"A drying skirt is an expensive facility, and North Korea probably has none ... It is easy to repair a ship in a dry dock after the water has been drained, but they do not have this infrastructure," said the Admiral and added that the recovery could take several months.
effects on future marine projects
The South Korean MP and defense analyst Yu Yong-Weon said that a hasty start of the ship probably led to the problems on Wednesday and warned that hasty repairs could cause further problems in the future. Schuster noted that repairs, if possible, would take months than weeks.
An investigation commission was formed, and high -ranking civil servants could come across criticism at the upcoming meeting of the party's Central Committee, the KcNA reported
The North Korea's navy is often regarded as the least developed branch of its military. The accelerated development of destroyers has caused some outsiders observers surprise, which raises questions about the functionality of the technology compared to their symbolic value. Mercliano emphasized that it was unclear whether the new warships from Pyongyang have engines at all, as the state media did not deliver any pictures of them.