PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea’s ambitious naval modernisation campaign suffered a dramatic blow on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, when the country’s newest 5,000-ton destroyer was severely damaged during its launch ceremony, an incident witnessed by leader Kim Jong Un who called the failure “a criminal act” and vowed to punish those responsible.
In a rare admission of failure, North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed the accident on Friday, May 23, 2025, stating that a malfunction in the launch mechanism caused the stern of the ship to slip prematurely into the water while the bow remained stranded on the shipway.
The result was significant structural damage to the as-yet unnamed warship.
Satellite images later released by independent analysts showed the vessel listing heavily on its side, partially submerged, with parts of the hull visibly deformed.
Kim lashed out at multiple state institutions in the wake of the failure, blaming “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” on the part of the Munitions Industry Department, Kim Chaek University of Technology, and the central ship design bureau.
“The launch failure is a criminal act that brings shame to our nation’s prestige,” Kim reportedly said, according to KCNA.
He ordered an investigation and threatened political consequences, adding that the ship must be restored before the late June plenary session of the ruling Workers’ Party.
Naval experts warned that the damage could be severe.
Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University in North Carolina, told CNN that if the ship’s hull did not move as a single structure, it could be torn apart.
“If the ship does not move together, the stresses will tear the hull apart,” he said.
Carl Schuster, a retired U.S. Navy officer and analyst based in Hawaii, suggested the stresses would “warp the hull, induce cracks and (possibly) snap the keel depending on where the greatest stress falls.”
Despite state media assurances on Friday, May 23, 2025, that damage was “less than initially estimated,” including scratches along the starboard side and some seawater flooding the stern, naval experts expressed scepticism over the possibility of quick repairs.
KCNA claimed the damage could be resolved within 10 days, but independent assessments suggested the process could take months — or longer.
“The ship will not be entering Korean People’s Navy (KPN) service anytime soon and may ultimately prove to be a complete loss,” analysts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) wrote in their Beyond Parallel blog, which published high-resolution satellite photos of the damaged vessel.
One of the major hurdles in the repair effort, analysts say, is the lack of dry dock facilities in North Korea capable of accommodating a ship of that size.
Retired South Korean Admiral Kim Duk-ki told CNN that the absence of such infrastructure could stretch restoration efforts to over four or five months.
“Dry dock is an expensive facility, and North Korea probably doesn’t have one… It’s easy to repair a ship in a dry dock after draining water, but they don’t have the facility,” Adm. Kim said.
The destroyer was expected to be the second of a new generation of warships North Korea is developing in a bid to modernise its outdated, Soviet-era navy.
In April, the country unveiled the Choe Hyon, a destroyer that state media heralded as a leap forward in naval capabilities.
Analysts noted that its design bore similarities to Russian naval vessels, though many remain unsure of the ship’s actual functionality.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the crippled destroyer appeared to be of the same class as the Choe Hyon.
Little is known about the ship’s internal systems, with experts raising doubts about whether the new vessels are even operational.
“Pyongyang has yet to release any footage of these new ships underway,” Mercogliano noted, questioning whether the vessels are more symbolic than strategic.
North Korea’s navy is widely regarded as the least advanced branch of its military.
The rapid unveiling of new warships has surprised some observers, but the failed launch may now raise further questions about the technical credibility and sustainability of Pyongyang’s naval ambitions.
KCNA reported that a high-level investigation committee has been formed and suggested that senior officials involved may face public censure during the upcoming Central Committee meeting.
Meanwhile, Kim has signalled that the incident will not only be treated as a technical failure but as a matter of national pride and political accountability.
