
North Korea straightens capsized warship and completes launch
Jun 06, 2025
Pyongyang [North Korea], June 6: North Korea announced on June 6 that it had completed launching and mooring the warship to the pier after the incident last month.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 6, the capsized destroyer has regained balance, confirming information previously reported by the media.
The North Korean destroyer Choe Hyun capsized during its launching ceremony on May 21, witnessed by leader Kim Jong-un. The ship was tilted and part of its bow was seen lying on the shore. A team of experts will then conduct a comprehensive inspection of the hull before the engineering team begins the next stage of restoration, which will take place at the Rajin Shipyard's dry dock for 7-10 days.
Jo Chung Ryong, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea , who is in charge of leading the site restoration team, said the perfect restoration of the destroyer will be completed without any mistakes before the 12th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party.
Previously, leader Kim Jong-un ordered the complete restoration of the warship before the meeting in late June.
On June 5, the South Korean military announced that the North Korean warship appeared to have been uprighted earlier this week and that Pyongyang planned to pump water out of the vessel.
38 North, a website specializing in North Korea research, cited commercial satellite images taken on June 2, saying that Pyongyang's Choe Hyun warship appeared to have been erected for the first time since the accident on May 21.
The Choe Hyun is the second in a new class of 5,000-ton destroyers built by North Korea. The first, the Choi Hyon, was launched in April.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper