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North Korea launches damaged warship after putting it in upright position: KCNA

Published: 06 Jun. 2025, 08:43

This satellite image, taken May 15, 2025, and provided by South Korea's Ministry of Unification on May 22, shows a North Korean warship under preparation for launch after being constructed in the northeastern port city of Chongjin. [MINISTRY OF UNIFICATION]

North Korea said Friday it has successfully put in an upright position a warship that was partially capsized during a launch ceremony last month, and launched it.

The 5,000-ton destroyer tipped over and became partially submerged during the launch ceremony held in late May in the northeastern port city of Chongjin. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the full restoration of the warship before a key party meeting set for late June.

In early June, a North Korean team restored the balance of the warship and moored it at the pier by safely conducting its end launch on Thursday afternoon, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The team will start the next-stage restoration after the reexamination by a group of experts of the overall hull of the destroyer," the KCNA said.

North Korea said it will carry out detailed restoration work on the destroyer at a dry dock in the northeastern port of Rajin, a project that is expected to take seven to 10 days.

The South Korean military said Thursday the North Korean warship that had tilted at the Chongjin port and returned to an upright position earlier this week, and that the North is expected to begin to drain water from the warship.

The North's leader Kim witnessed the warship tipping over during the launch ceremony and condemned it as an intolerable "criminal act."

As part of a probe into the warship accident, North Korea has detained some officials, including the vice director of the party's munitions industry department.

Yonhap