North Korea launches repaired destroyer
PYONGYANG
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows a destroyer named Kang Kon during its launch ceremony at the Rajin shipyard in Rason, North Korea, Thursday, June 12, 2025.
A North Korean naval destroyer damaged in a botched launch last month was successfully set afloat on a second attempt, with leader Kim Jong Un presiding, state media said on June 13.
A ceremony for the ship baptized the Kang Kon, after a top North Korean general killed in the 1950-53 war, was held at the Rajin shipyard, up the coast from where the botched attempt occurred, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"Just over two weeks since the accident, the ship was safely raised and floated, and today, as planned, complete restoration has been finished," Kim said, according to KCNA.
Kim has also approved a plan to build two more destroyer-class vessels next year, the agency added.
The decision "heralds a significant and dramatic change in the status and defense activities of [our] Navy," Kim said, according to KCNA.
Photos released by the agency showed Kim was accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae.
The successful launch comes after Pyongyang last month announced "a serious accident" when workers first tried to put the 5,000-ton destroyer into water in the northeastern port city of Chongjin.
The mishap crushed sections of the bottom of the newly built ship. Pyongyang later covered it with a tarpaulin, satellite images showed.
Kim called the incident a "criminal act caused by absolute carelessness" and state media subsequently reported the arrest of four officials in connection with the botched launch.
