Seoul [North Korea], May 23: A new North Korean warship was severely damaged during its inauguration ceremony, state media reported on Thursday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described Wednesday's incident as both "a serious accident" and "a criminal act" that was caused by "sheer carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism," according to state news agency KCNA, the government's mouthpiece.
According to the report, parts of the ship's floor were apparently crushed during the launch at the shipyard in Chongjin. It was not possible to independently verify the details of the accident.
The damaged vessel was said to be a 5,000-metric-tonne destroyer capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
Kim "warned solemnly" that officials responsible for the botched launch "would have to be dealt with" at the next meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, and "censured them for the fault", according to the KCNA.
Kim ordered the warship to be fixed in time for a plenary meeting of the party's central committee in June, describing the vessel's restoration as "not merely a practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state", according to the KCNA.
It is unusual for North Korea's state news agency to report on such an accident, with Kim stressing the incident "lowered the dignity and self-respect" of the state.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains extremely tense, more than 70 years since the Korean War ended with an armistice but no peace treaty in 1953, meaning North and South Korea are technically still at war.
Source: Qatar Tribune
