Blow to Kim’s ‘prestige’ as North Korean warship launch flops in front of him
Kim Jong-un, who watched the incident, called it a ‘criminal act’ that ‘could not be ‘tolerated’

A major accident occurred at a launch ceremony for a new North Korean naval destroyer, state media reported on Thursday, with leader Kim Jong-un saying the mishap was a “criminal act”.
At a ceremony to launch a new 5,000-tonne destroyer in the eastern port city of Chongjin on Wednesday “a serious accident occurred”, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Blaming “inexperienced command and operational carelessness” during the launch, which was being observed by Kim, KCNA said there was a mishap which left “some sections of the warship’s bottom crushed”.

It said the accident managed to “destroy the balance of the warship”.

Kim watched the entire incident and declared it a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness”, warning it “could not be tolerated”.

He said the “irresponsible errors” of officials responsible would be “dealt with at the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee to be convened next month”.

Kim also ordered officials to fully restore the warship before the meeting, calling the task a “political mission directly linked to the authority of the state”.

Professor Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, said the incident occurred as Pyongyang was rushing to complete its five-year military build-up programme.

“Kim Jong-un is furious about this accident, which unfolded right before his eyes during Wednesday’s launch ceremony. It’s a serious blow to his personal prestige,” Yang told This Week in Asia.

“The five-year defence build-up programme has lost its shine in an instant,” he said.

Yang added that some of the officials responsible for the botched launch “may face execution”, while others are likely to be spared to oversee repairs and relaunch the vessel.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/ar...nt-be-tolerated





some says it has already sunk