North Korean authorities detain three people over ship launch fail
North Korean authorities detained three people on Sunday following the failed launch of a new warship, state media reported. The arrests underscore Pyongyang's zero-tolerance policy for setbacks in its military modernization efforts, particularly after Kim Jong Un condemned the warship failure.
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 09:48 | 25 May 2025
North Korean authorities have detained three people following a failed launch of a new warship, state media reported on Sunday.
A warship was severely damaged during its launching ceremony on Wednesday, state news agency KCNA, the government's mouthpiece, reported.
The damaged vessel was said to be a 5,000-metric-ton destroyer capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
The chief engineer and the deputy manager for administrative affairs of the shipyard, as well as the head of the hull construction workshop had been detained, KCNA reported on Sunday.
An investigation into the incident was being "intensified," the agency said.
"There is no additional identified damage to the warship and the field rehabilitation promotion team is pushing ahead with the rehabilitation plan as scheduled," KCNA reported.
It is unusual for North Korea's state news agency to report on such an accident, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un describing the incident as both "a serious accident" and "a criminal act," according to KCNA.
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.
A warship was severely damaged during its launching ceremony on Wednesday, state news agency KCNA, the government's mouthpiece, reported.
The damaged vessel was said to be a 5,000-metric-ton destroyer capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
The chief engineer and the deputy manager for administrative affairs of the shipyard, as well as the head of the hull construction workshop had been detained, KCNA reported on Sunday.
An investigation into the incident was being "intensified," the agency said.
"There is no additional identified damage to the warship and the field rehabilitation promotion team is pushing ahead with the rehabilitation plan as scheduled," KCNA reported.
It is unusual for North Korea's state news agency to report on such an accident, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un describing the incident as both "a serious accident" and "a criminal act," according to KCNA.
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.
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