Seoul, Korea
CNN
–
North Korea arrested four people. State media reports that leader Kim Jong’s latest warship has been partially submerged at the shipyard.
The four people detained included the son of Ri Hyong, deputy director of the Munitions Industry Division of the Party Central Committee. “We were very responsible for the occurrence of serious accidents,” a report from the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Monday.
On Sunday, the KCNA said three other people were taken into custody: Kang Jong Chol, chief engineer at the Chongjin Shipyard where the accident occurred, is Han Kyong Hak, head of Hull Construction Workshop, and Kim Yong Hak, assistant manager of administrative affairs.
Last week, Kim called He witnessed “criminal conduct” and vowed to punish those responsible.
Last Wednesday’s accident was caused by a malfunction of the startup mechanism. KCNA reported on Thursday with a rare hospitalization of a fault from a very secret condition as the stern of a still-unknown 5,000-ton destroyer slipped prematurely into the water, crushing parts of the hull and leaving the ship tied to the ship.
State media reported on Friday that the damage to the warship was less than North Korea’s original estimate, saying that the hull had no holes in the hull but had been scratched along the right board side. He also said, “a certain amount of seawater has flowed into the stern section.”
The report says repairs can take around 10 days. Analysts are skeptical though.
Kim ordered the destroyers to be restored before a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party in late June, calling the issue one of the national honors.
Satellite images show most of the warships covered in blue waterproof ships at launch sites, making it difficult for experts to determine the full extent of damage suffered.
But analyst Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, said repair work could take up to six months, far beyond Kim’s June target.
“If the hull damage spreads to the port side of a tarp-covered ship, we’re looking at four to six months of repair work,” he said.
According to Schuster, repairs can be complicated depending on the amount of seawater entered the warship.
The interior of the ship must be thoroughly washed away with fresh water and dried to prevent the “salted crust” from forming on the metal surface, he said.
“When it gets into joints and things, it gets destructive,” Schuster said.
However, the flushing operation cannot be started until the ship is correct and the holes in the hull are patched, he said.
KCNA reported on Monday that “work is being actively carried out to fully restore the warship’s balance,” but that didn’t give a timeline.
Satellite images of Maxar Technologies, taken Sunday and supplied to CNN, showed the ship still covered on its side, but are almost covered with a blue tarp as small boats flock around it.
South Korean lawmaker and defense analyst Yoo Yong Wang said last week he quickly led to problems he encountered on Wednesday, and he warned that the rush to repairs could cause more problems.
Schuster reflected that idea by saying that optics are more important to the Kim administration than military values.
“If Kim Jong-un says, ‘I want to install a ship in six months,’ they’ll take a shortcut to make that happen. And usually, when you do, do you end up with a ship that says you are not the best for the ship? But it meets the standards of propaganda. ”
CNN’s YoonjungSeo and Gawon Bae contributed to this report.
