A special investigative team was formed following a recent accident during the launch of a North Korean destroyer. However, the team did not find any holes in the bottom of the destroyer.
Instead, scratches were found on the starboard side, and the aft escape passage along with several internal compartments were flooded. According to the team's experts, It should take two or three days to pump out the flooded compartments, reposition the bow, and restore the ship's stability. It should take about 10 days to restore the destroyer.
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Although the team claims that the damage is not serious, satellite images show otherwise. Earlier, the North Korean Central News Agency reported that dictator Kim Jong Un had given just one month to eliminate the consequences of the accident and restore the ship. This happened after North Korea, for unknown reasons, acknowledged the accident.
Judging by available satellite images, in addition to scratches and flooding in certain compartments, the destroyer may have split in half. The bow is resting on a raised area of the shore, while the stern remains aground. In other words, the central part of the ship is probably hanging, increasing the risk of hull cracks and breaks.
Such repairs will take much longer than 10 days; otherwise, the ship's hull may lose its stability and strength. If appropriate measures are not taken, this could result in a further structural failure and the sinking of the ship. However, until photos from the incident site become available, it is impossible to accurately assess the destroyer's true condition, especially since tarpaulins currently cover almost the entire vessel.
It should be noted that this destroyer was built in just over 400 days, which is very fast for a ship of this class. The first Choe Hyon-class destroyer was launched on April 25, 2025. The ship involved in this incident is expected to become the second destroyer in this project. It is planned to build four such ships. Thus, North Korea outpaced russia by the number of large ships in the region.
Choe Hyon-class destroyers are 144 meters long, 16 meters wide, with a displacement of 5,000 tons. It has 74 vertical launchers, namely: 10 are likely intended for ballistic missiles, 20 for cruise missiles, 12 for anti-ship missiles, and 32 for anti-aircraft missiles.
In addition to anti-aircraft missiles in a vertical launching system, it is equipped with one russian Pantsir-M surface-to-air missile system and two 30-mm cannons similar to the AK-630 for protection against aerial threats. It is also equipped with a 127-mm gun, 533-mm torpedoes, a helipad and a Korean copy of the Spike/Spike ER.
Earlier Defense Express reported that up to 20 North Korean MiG-29 fighters had been modified to launch AIM-120 analog.
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