North Korea said Thursday a “serious accident” occurred the previous day during a ceremony to launch a new warship, with its leader Kim Jong-un calling it a “criminal act” that could not be tolerated, according to Yonhap.
The accident took place Wednesday at a shipyard in the eastern port city of Chongjin during a ceremony to launch a newly built 5,000-ton destroyer, attended by the North’s leader, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Citing “inexperience command and operational carelessness” in the course of the launch, North Korea said a “serious accident” occurred as the launch slide of the stern departed first and was stranded while the flatcar failed to move in parallel.
Some sections of the warship’s bottom “crushed,” destroying the balance of the warship, and the bow couldn’t leave the shipway, it reported.
Pointing to the accident, “Kim made stern assessment saying that it was a serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism which is out of the bounds of possibility and could not be tolerated,” the KCNA said.
After the accident, Kim Jong-un instructed the establishment of an investigation team to look into the cause of the accident.
Sources said that the destroyer launched this time is the same class as the 5,000-ton Choi Hyun destroyer launched on April 25th. Kim Jong-un said earlier that the Choi Hyun will be delivered to the navy and put into service early next year, and that the North Korea will also build nuclear-powered submarines.