Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
North Korea has moved a new warship damaged in a botched launch to a port near the Russian border, a move analysts say could point to a role for Moscow in repairing the vessel.
Satellite images taken Sunday by Maxar Technologies show the 5,000-ton destroyer, as yet unnamed, in a drydock in the port of Rajin, part of North Korea’s Rason special economic zone, which abuts its short border with Russia.
While not a major shipbuilding facility like the shipyard in the northeastern city of Chongjin where the launching accident occurred, Rajin has facilities for modest repairs and maintenance, said Yu Jihoon, director of external cooperation and an associate research fellow at Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
And its proximity to Russia “makes it a key node for North Korea’s efforts to deepen economic and potentially military ties with Moscow,” Yu said.
A 2024 report from the Modern War Institute at West Point, the United States Military Academy, calls the Rason economic zone “a significant point of North Korea–Russia cooperation, recently implicated in North Korean arms shipments to Russia for use in Ukraine.”
The warship was damaged on May 21, when during its launch the stern went into the water but the bow stayed stuck on land. The ship turned on its side in the botched maneuver.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who attended the launching ceremony, ordered the destroyer to be repaired by the late-June plenary session of the ruling Workers’ Party, calling it a matter of national honor.
State media reported last week repairs at the Rajin drydock would take seven to 10 days, meeting Kim’s timeline.
Retired South Korean Adm. Kim Duk-ki told CNN on Monday the repair time would depend on the damage to the ship.
Kim said it’s possible the ship’s sonar and depth finders, located on the bow section, were damaged during the botched launch.
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