On May 21, local time, a serious accident occurred during the launching process of North Korea’s newly built 5,000-ton-class new destroyer at the Chongjin Shipyard. Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, witnessed the whole process. After the accident, Kim Jong-un issued “severe criticism,” instructed to file an investigation, and demanded the completion of hull repairs by the end of June.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on the 23rd, North Korea has set up an investigation team to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the “serious accident of launching a new 5,000-ton destroyer” that occurred on the 21st. The accident investigation team is composed of prosecutors and relevant experts.
According to preliminary investigation, the damage to the destroyer was not as serious as previously announced. Through detailed underwater and internal inspections, it was found that “there was no “holes” in the bottom of the warship, the starboard side of the hull was scraped, and a certain amount of seawater flowed in through the life-saving channel at the stern.”
The experts of the investigation group determined that “it would take 2 to 3 days to pump out the seawater from the submerged compartments and detach the bow section from the slipway to restore the balance of the warship, and 10 days to repair the starboard side”.
On May 22, the accident investigation team reported the relevant investigation contents to the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
The Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea issued relevant positions and instructions to the investigation team: Although the damage to the destroyer in the accident was not serious, the cause of this accident that should not have happened and cannot be tolerated must be found out, and the relevant responsible persons must be investigated and exposed.
The Commission made it clear that: “Even if the ship is in good condition, the fact that the accident is an intolerable criminal act will not change and those responsible will not be able to get away with their crimes. The accident is regarded as a major incident, not because of the damage to the ship or the financial loss, but as a wake-up call to deal a severe blow to the lack of vigilance, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism that is spreading in all departments”.
Based on the investigation information from the Accident Investigation Team, the judicial authorities took specific steps and decided to first detain and investigate those who were clearly responsible for the accident. The director of Cheongjin Shipyard, was summoned to the judicial authorities on the 22nd.
Previous reports indicated that the new destroyer involved in the accident adopted a lateral slipway launching method, marking the first time a North Korean shipyard has used a transverse launching method for a warship. Although the lateral slipway launching method is not the optimal choice for launching, but it is a last resort for the Cheongjin shipyard due to the lack of hardware facilities such as dry docks.