North Korea’s second naval destroyer got messed up in its failed launch into the water this week, according to state media on Thursday, which is kind of embarrassing for leader Kim Jong Un as he tries to make his navy all fancy and modern. It’s not something North Korea usually talks about when things go wrong with their military stuff, but experts think Kim letting everyone know about the ship mishap shows he’s serious about upgrading his navy and is pretty confident he’ll get it right eventually.
The failed launch went down at the northeastern port of Chongjin on Wednesday, where the brand-new 5,000-ton-class destroyer got all wobbly and ended up with holes in its bottom sections after the transport cradle on the back part slipped off and got stuck, as per the Korean Central News Agency. They didn’t give out much info on what caused the issue, how bad the damage was, or if anyone got hurt. Kim, who was there when it happened, blamed military peeps, scientists, and shipyard workers for being careless and messing things up. He’s calling for a big meeting in June to talk about their mistakes.
The damaged boat was probably similar to the country’s first destroyer, which was unveiled on April 25 and said to be the most advanced and biggest warship North Korea has ever had. Kim was all about the first ship, named Choe Hyon after a Korean rebel from back in the day, saying it would help boost their military range and nuclear strike abilities. The vessel was supposed to be ready for action early next year, and Kim even watched as they test-fired missiles from it. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff think the busted ship had similar systems and is still lying on its side in the sea.
