North Korea says repaired destroyer has launched, a claim met with outside skepticism

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said it has repaired its damaged second naval destroyer and launched the ship into the water in the presence of leader Kim Jong Un, about three weeks after it capsized during a botched launch ceremony.

In a lavish ceremony Thursday, Kim boarded the warship and told troops that nothing can block his country's push to bolster its naval combat power in the face of U.S.-led hostilities, the Korean Central News Agency said Friday.

The country's extremely secretive nature makes it virtually impossible to independently confirm the announcement on the ship’s repair. Outside observers doubt whether the ship’s engine, weapons systems and other electronic equipment can function normally, as parts of the warship were submerged for about two weeks.

North Korea's failed launch May 21 sparked fury from Kim, who has vowed to build a stronger navy to cope with what he calls escalating U.S.-led threats against his country.

Kim said the incident was caused by criminal negligence and ordered officials to repair the warship before a ruling Workers' Party meeting in late June. North Korean authorities later detained four officials including the vice director of the Workers' Party's munitions industry department over the botched launch.

Kim lauds the destroyer's launch

In his Thursday speech, Kim said the country’s two destroyers will play a big role in improving the navy’s operational capabilities, according to KCNA.

Kim reiterated previous claims that his naval buildup is a justified response to perceived threats posed by the U.S. and South Korea, which in recent years have expanded their combined military exercises and updated their deterrence strategies to counter Kim’s advancing nuclear program. He said the North will respond to such external threats with “overwhelming military action."

“It will not be long before the enemy nations themselves experience just how provoking and unpleasant it is to sit back and watch as our warships freely move near the edges of their sovereign waters,” Kim said.

Kim said a North Korean shipyard worker died during the repairs and offered his “deepest condolences” to his family, including his wife and son who were present at the launch event.

Experts doubt North Korean claim

Outside experts earlier said it remained unclear how severely the 5,000-ton-class destroyer was damaged and questioned North Korea's claim it needed 10 days to pump out the seawater, set the ship upright and fix its damages it described as "not serious."

Previous satellite photos showed the North Korean destroyer lying on its side at the northeastern port of Chongjin, with its stern partly under water. Last week, North Korea said it had righted the warship and would move it to the Rajin port, which is further north of Chongjin and close to the border with Russia, for the next stage of its restoration works.

“Considering the time they needed to raise the vessel, they would have had less than two weeks to carry out the real repair work,” said Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “Would that have been enough time to completely fix everything and bring the vessel to a state where it’s operationally capable? I think that’s highly unlikely.”

Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said what was likely flooded in the North Korean ship were its engine room, missile launch tubes and anti-air weapons systems, which all involve electronic systems that are highly vulnerable to damages if exposed to seawater.

Lee said the ship's move to Rajin implies Russian experts have likely been assisting North Korea with repairs.

Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia has been flourishing significantly in recent years, with the North supplying troops and ammunitions to support Russia's war against Ukraine.

Kim wants a bigger navy

The damaged warship was in the same class as the country's first destroyer unveiled in April, which experts assessed as the North's largest and most advanced warship to date. Experts say the North's two destroyers were both likely built with Russian help.

Kim Jong Un said the ruling Workers’ Party has confirmed plans to build two more 5,000-ton-class destroyers next year, according to Friday's KCNA dispatch.

Satellite imagery indicated North Korea had attempted to launch the second destroyer sideways, a method it had never used for warships. Many observers said it would be more difficult to maintain the balance of a big warship because it carries heavy weapons systems. But they said North Korea won't likely repeat the same mistake when it launches its third and fourth destroyers.

According to North Korea's timetable, its first two destroyers are to be deployed next year.

Despite its growing nuclear arsenal and huge 1.2 million-member standing army, North Korea's naval and aerial forces have been considered inferior to those of South Korea's. But North Korea's planned deployment of a series of 5,000-ton-class destroyers would pose “really a serious threat" to South Korea, whose navy hasn't still prepared itself to deal with such big, advanced enemy warships, according to Lee, the expert.

Earlier this week, the new liberal South Korean government led by President Lee Jae-myung halted frontline propaganda broadcasts as its first concrete step toward easing tensions between the rivals. North Korea hasn't responded formally to the measure.