Satellite images show damaged North Korean warship moved to drydock near Russian border
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here 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 on Sunday by Maxar Technologies show the 5000-tonne 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 Defence Analyses. Satellite images taken Sunday by Maxar Technologies show the 5000-tonne destroyer, as yet unnamed, in a drydock in the port of Rajin. (CNN/Maxar) 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 manoeuvre. Mysterious white balloons have been seen floating over North Korea's stricken warship. (Maxar Technologies via CNN) 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 honour. 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. Such damage would likely require foreign help to repair, he said. "North Korea is believed to lack the technology for sonar systems, so they likely imported them from China or Russia," Kim said. But South Korean lawmaker Yu Yong-weon told CNN his country's military believes that the likelihood of sonar damage on the North Korean ship is relatively low. "The vessel's external damage doesn't seem significant, and the main issue seems to be the water flooding into the warship" was the assessment of the South Korean military, Yu said. Internal spaces of the ship, as well as machinery and electronics, will have to be purged of sea water and dried salt in the repair process, analysts said. Yu said Russian assistance in the repair process was a possibility, but it would be difficult to verify if it only involved engineers and not the movement of major pieces of equipment. North Korea is believed to have sent millions of munitions, including missiles and rockets, to Russia over the past year, according to watchdog the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team. In return, Russia has provided North Korea with valuable weapons technologies, including air defence equipment, anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare systems as well as refined oil, the watchdog said last month. World
North Korea
Russia
military
Kim Jong un
defence CONTACT US
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
35 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Putin approves revamp of Russia's navy: Kremlin aide
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says. Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war. Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May. "Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview. "It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said. Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product. A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030. Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says. Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war. Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May. "Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview. "It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said. Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product. A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030. Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says. Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war. Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May. "Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview. "It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said. Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product. A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030. Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says. Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war. Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May. "Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview. "It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said. Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product. A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030. Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea.
Canberra Times
3 hours ago
- Canberra Times
Putin approves revamp of Russia's navy: Kremlin aide
Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Putin approves revamp of Russia's navy: Kremlin aide
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says. Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war. Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May. "Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview. "It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said. Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product. A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030. Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea.
