London – North Korean leader Kim Jong One said that a “serious accident” affecting the launch of the country’s most recent warship on Wednesday “was a criminal act caused by pure negligence,” reported the country’s state media.
The state central Korean press agency said that the launch failed after the ship stuck on its launch sled and its essential, causing damage at the bottom of the ship. The incident occurred at Cheongjin’s shipyard in the northeast of the country.
KIM – which was present for the launch of the destroyer of 5,000 tonnes – “made a severe evaluation that it was a serious accident that could not occur, could not be tolerated and was a criminal act caused by pure negligence, irresponsibility and non -scientific empiricism,” KCNA reported.
Kim “was severely warned” several government organizations and institutions, said KCNA, including the Munition Industry Department, the Institute of Dynamics of the Academy of State Sciences, the University of Technology of Kim Chaek and the Central Ship Design Institute.
A satellite image shows the new North Korean warship in Harbor before the launch, in Chongjin, North Korea, on May 18, 2025.
Maxar Technologies / Via Reuters
Kim said officials would be “treated” at a meeting of the Central Party Committee next month, KCNA said.
The ship launched on Wednesday is the second of the new destroyers of North Korea. The first – the Choe Hyon – was unveiled in April.
During a ceremony to launch the Choe Hyon at the port of Nampo on the west coast of the country, Kim said that the construction of the ship represented “a breakthrough” in the naval modernization of North Korea.
Kim also said that he “intended to build an operational fleet in blue water” – which means a force capable of operating in open ocean rather than only in coastal waters around the Korean peninsula.
Ellie Kaufman from ABC News contributed to this report.
