New satellite images of the Chongjin shipyard, from June 2, show that the North Koreans probably managed to put their Choe Hyon–class missile destroyer in a vertical position again. That is, after 12 days since the May 21 capsizing accident during its failed launch. Then, the investigation team said the ship had not suffered much, so restoring the balance should take 2 to 3 days, and about 10 days were needed to repair the damaged side.
So, as expected, the Koreans missed all their promised deadlines. But what's more important is how they managed to get it upright. In satellite images published by 38north, on May 29, a group of workers could be seen on the quay pulling tethers, presumably connected to the ship's side. Earlier, Hartpunkt noticed "a large number of balloons suspended in the air" to help right the 5,000-ton destroyer in place of specialized lift bags.
Read more: How N.Korea Even Managed to Capsize a Destroyer During Its Launch: A Simple Explanation For a Deep-Rooted Problem
This is quite incredible speed. The image is partially obscured by cloud, but the capsized North Korean warship is now upright again. What makes it even more impressive is they apparently did it all manually. : Airbus Space and Defence/38 North, June 2 www.38north.org/2025/06/quic...[image or embed]— Martyn Williams (@martynw.bsky.social) 3 июня 2025 г. в 21:28
In fact, using manual labor and makeshift solutions was practically the only way to do it, because the shipyard doesn't have powerful floating cranes to lift the vessel the common way. Regardless, there is still another problem left tos solve: although they managed to get this destroyer into an upright position, its nose is still on the shore, not in the water, after the carrying sleds failed to slide down the tracks correctly.
Challenges do not even end there, since the destroyer most likely received some damage to the bottom and the nose sonar. Therefore, to restore it, they must need a dry dock of sufficient size, where they could carry out appropriate repairs, but there is none to be found — neither at this shipyard, nor in the cities nearby.
Therefore, it's hard to tell what the Koreans will do next, yet at this point, it's most certain that completely restoring the warship within the month allotted by Kim Jong Un is unrealistic. Perhaps only the surface will be fixed to show to the public and save image, but if the damage estimates are correct, the meaningful restoration work may keep going much longer.
It is also worth noting that recently North Korea has apparently discovered another problem in the Chongjin shipyard, namely with the harbor entrance. They are now hastily deepen the seabed, as shallow waters may simply render the new destroyer unable to exit the harbor into the sea.
Read more: While Salvaging Its Destroyer, North Korea Discovered a New Serious Problem
