Photo Credit: Getty Images
After a reported capsize during its launch, North Korea has refloated a warship that drew criticism from Kim Jong Un. State media KCNA reported the ship "safely entered the water vertically" and is now "moored at the pier." Repairs are expected to be completed before a key meeting led by Kim, attended by top officials.
The 5,000-tonne destroyer can be seen upright at the pier and then about three hours later, "floating in the harbour" in satellite images published by specialist news sites 38 North and NK News.
The effort to right the ship, which had happened on Thursday, was a manual process, researchers at 38 North said, noting that satellite imaging showed workers on the quay pulling tethers and using barrage balloons to bring the vessel back to balance. Some of the balloons appeared to still be attached to the vessel, they added.
Kim, who witnessed the warship tipping over during the failed launch about two weeks ago, had criticised the incident as a "criminal act" that "severely damaged the country's dignity and pride".
It was the result of "absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism", he added.
At least four officials, including Ri Hyong-son, the deputy director of the ruling Workers' Party's Munitions Industry Department, have been arrested over the incident.
Ri is part of the party's Central Military Commission, which commands the Korean People's Army and is responsible for developing and implementing North Korea's military policies.
It is not clear what punishment the officials might face, but the secretive dictatorship has been known to sentence officials it finds guilty of wrongdoing to forced labour or even death.
Some analysts saw Kim's swift and severe response to the earlier failed launch as a signal that Pyongyang would continue to advance its military capabilities.
Just weeks before the botched launch, Pyongyang had unveiled a similar warship in another part of the country.
Kim called that warship a "breakthrough" in modernising North Korea's navy and said it would be deployed early next year.
