A new North Korean warship remains capsized after a failed launch ceremony earlier in May, indicating problems with recovery efforts a week after DPRK “experts” reportedly said it would be brought upright.

Planet Labs high-resolution imagery reveals that the Choe Hyon-class destroyer was still half submerged on its side at the east-coast Chongjin Shipyard just before 3 p.m. local time on May 31.

Its position has not changed from how it appeared in satellite imagery taken a day after the incident on May 22. Experts at 38 North and CSIS have identified dozens of large air balloons attached to the ship, reportedly to relieve stress on its damaged hull or keep it from sinking further.

An attempted side launch of the vessel failed at a May 21 ceremony reportedly attended by leader Kim Jong Un and likely hundreds of guests, resulting in its current state diagonally positioned with its bow on the quay and its starboard side underwater.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) projected a quick recovery, stating that “experts estimated that it will take two or three days to restore the balance of the warship by pumping up seawater from the flooded chamber and making the bow leave the slipway.” 

The report added it would take “10-odd days” to restore the damaged hull, while Kim demanded in the immediate aftermath that its recovery be “completed unconditionally before” a party plenum is held to discuss the situation in “late June.”

This inaccurate prediction suggests the unnamed “experts” and those who may have offered inflated ideas of technical capabilities to maneuver and recover the 5,000-ton vessel could get caught up in the investigation and arrests.

State media has not published any official updates since May 26, and it’s unclear if more reports on the ship’s status or criminal investigation will be forthcoming before the party plenum.

KCNA detailed five arrests over four total text reports on the warship, including the Chongjin Shipyard manager and other workers there as well as a munitions industry department official.

The ship was slated to be the second Choe Hyon-class destroyer to be launched within a month, after the first on April 25 on the west coast in Nampho. 

Kim Jong Un has billed the vessels — built rapidly since spring 2024 — as part of larger plans to challenge the U.S. and South Korean navies and project naval power and nuclear weapon launch capabilities from locations beyond just the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

Edited by Bryan Betts