
N. Korea detains another official over warship launch accident
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the mishap a 'criminal act caused by absolute carelessness'. (EPA Images pic)
SEOUL : North Korea has detained another official over last week's failed launch of a warship, which damaged the 5,000-ton naval destroyer, state media reported today.
Pyongyang announced 'a serious accident' at Wednesday's launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the newly built destroyer.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the mishap a 'criminal act caused by absolute carelessness'.
Ri Hyong Son, vice department director of the munitions industry department of the party central committee, was summoned and detained yesterday, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
He was 'greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident', it said.
Ri is the fourth person reportedly detained in connection with the accident, following the detention of three individuals over the weekend, including the chief engineer at the shipyard.
KCNA reported on Friday that shipyard manager Hong Kil Ho had been summoned by law enforcement
'At the scene of the destroyer launch accident, the work for completely restoring the balance of the warship is being actively conducted,' KCNA said, adding that it is done 'according to its schedule'.
South Korea's military said that Washington and Seoul's intelligence authorities had assessed that North Korea's 'side-launch attempt' of the ship failed, and the vessel was left listing in the water.
KCNA, however, reported that an 'underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship's bottom', calling the extent of the damage 'not serious'.
The South Korean military estimated that based on its size and scale, the newly built warship is similarly equipped to the 5,000-ton destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea unveiled last month.
Pyongyang has said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the 'most powerful weapons', and that it would 'enter into operation early next year'.
Seoul's military has said the Choe Hyon could have been developed with Russian help, possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Free Malaysia Today
24 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Taiwanese lawmakers approve higher military pay
Under the amendment, volunteer service members would receive an additional monthly allowance of US$1,000. (AFP pic) TAIPEI : Taiwan's opposition-controlled parliament approved today a pay increase for military service members, in a bid to address a manpower shortage and retain soldiers in the face of Chinese military pressure. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party and Taiwan People's Party passed amendments to an armed forces pay act granting volunteer service members an additional monthly allowance of US$1,000. The law previously did not specify the exact amount for allowances. It is on top of increases announced by president Lai Ching-te in March. 'The armed forces are facing new types of operational needs… allowances should be increased to reflect the sharp rise in unit duties and training frequency,' the KMT said in the document outlining the proposed changes. 'By significantly raising allowances and adding an adjustment mechanism, the aim is to improve recruitment incentives and retain outstanding talent.' Other changes passed by lawmakers today were for conscripts to receive no less than the minimum wage, additional pay for combat units and overtime. Premier Cho Jung-tai, who belongs to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said the government would challenge the amendments after the cabinet was not consulted as required by the budget act.

Malay Mail
43 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Huawei founder admits chips still trail US by ‘one generation'
BEIJING, June 10 — Chinese tech giant Huawei's chips still 'lag behind the United States by one generation', state media quoted its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei as saying in a rare interview on Tuesday. Washington last month unveiled fresh guidelines warning firms that using Chinese-made high-tech AI semiconductors, specifically Huawei's Ascend chips, would put them at risk of violating US export controls. The Shenzhen-based company has been at the centre of an intense standoff between the economic supergiants after Washington warned its equipment could be used for espionage by Beijing, an allegation Huawei denies. Speaking to the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, 80-year-old Ren insisted the United States had 'exaggerated' Huawei's achievements. Tougher controls in recent years have prevented US chip giant Nvidia, one of Huawei's rivals, from selling certain AI semiconductors — widely regarded as the most advanced in the world — to Chinese firms. As a result, it is now facing tougher competition from local players in the crucial market, including Huawei. Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang told reporters last month that Chinese companies 'are very, very talented and very determined, and the export control gave them the spirit, the energy and the government support to accelerate their development'. But Ren said Huawei was 'not that great yet', according to the article published on the newspaper's front page Tuesday. 'Many companies in China are making chips, and quite a few are doing well — Huawei is just one of them,' he added. When asked about 'external blockades and suppression' — a veiled reference to US export restrictions on Beijing — Ren said he had 'never thought about it'. 'Don't dwell on the difficulties, just get the job done and move forward step by step,' he added. Sanctions since 2019 have curtailed the firm's access to US-made components and technologies, forcing it to diversify its growth strategy. China has accused the United States of 'bullying' and 'abusing export controls to suppress and contain' the country's firms. — AFP


Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Russian drone strikes hit Kyiv, maternity ward in Odesa
The overnight attacks follow Russia's biggest drone strike on Ukraine yesterday. (AP pic) KYIV : Russia launched another large drone attack on Ukraine, striking Kyiv and damaging a maternity ward in the southern port of Odesa, regional officials said early today. The overnight attacks follow Russia's biggest drone strike on Ukraine yesterday – part of intensified operations that Moscow said were retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent brazen attacks inside Russia. Medics were called to four districts of Kyiv a couple hours after midnight today, including the historic Podil neighbourhood, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. The military said the strikes were still ongoing and urged people to seek bomb shelters. The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear. 'Enemy drones are simultaneously attacking several districts of the city,' Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app. 'There is damage to residential buildings and fires. Rescuers are working at the sites.' Reuters' witnesses heard a series of loud explosions throughout the city. In the southern port of Odesa, a 'massive' drone attack targeted an emergency medical building and a maternity ward, as well as residential buildings, Oleh Kiper, governor of the broader Odesa region said on Telegram. Regarding the maternity hospital there were no casualties and patients and staff were evacuated, Kiper said. He posted photos of broken windows in what looked like a medical facility and of damages to facades of several buildings. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against Ukraine more than three years ago. But thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict, the chief majority of them Ukrainian.