The vessel, believed to be part of the Choe Hyon-class destroyers that South Korean officials believe were built with Russin help, was described by state media as one of the country’s most advanced warships, potentially equipped with nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.
The incident reportedly occurred during a ceremony attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who blamed the mishap on what he called a " “serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism," according to state media outlet KCNA, as cited by the Associated Press.
“This is a shameful thing,” said Kim, according to state media KCNA, which also reported that a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party will be held in late June to address what Kim called “irresponsible errors.”
South Korean defense officials confirmed the vessel is now lying on its side in the water, the AP reported. The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Beyond Parallel project also confirmed the reports of the ship capsizing.
Spokesperson Lee Sung Joon of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that satellite images show the warship mostly submerged, toppled over near the dock with its hull wrapped in blue tarps.
Commercial satellite imagery from Planet Labs appeared to confirm this, showing the vessel at an angle and nearly entirely underwater, the outlet says.
The capsized ship is believed to be the second in the Choe Hyon class. The first destroyer, also named Choe Hyon after a prominent Korean guerrilla fighter from the Japanese occupation era, was unveiled by North Korea last month.
Previous reports had said that the new vessel was being prepared for launch at the Hambuk shipyard in Chongjin, likely via a sideways method off the quay.
Moon Keun-sik, a naval expert at Seoul’s Hanyang University, suggested that North Korean workers, unfamiliar with handling large vessels like these, may have rushed the method. “The reason why North Korea disclosed the incident is it wants to show it’s speeding up the modernization of its navy forces and expresses its confidence that it can eventually build” a modern fleet, he said.
