Damaged North Korea warship now in drydock near Russian border
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
Satellite imagery shows a North Korea warship that tipped over during its launch last month is now undergoing repairs at drydock near the Russian and Chinese borders.
An image from Maxar Technologies taken on Sunday shows the 5,000 ton naval destroyer at the dock in Raijin, which lies in a special economic zone in the northeastern tip of the country.
The warship fell sideways into the sea during its launch at the Chongjin shipyard on May 21, leaving it partially submerged and stoking the anger of leader Kim Jong Un, who called it a 'grave and unacceptable accident' and a 'serious criminal act.'
To the surprise of most foreign observers, North Korea managed not only to right the warship last week, but haul it 45 miles (72 kilometers) up the coast to Rajin, also known as Rason.
State-run Korean Central News Agency said the ship was relaunched last Thursday. Experts will examine the hull for the next stage of restorations, to be carried out at Rajin Dockyard for 7-10 days, the report said.
Kim had attended the botched launch on May 21, which put a dent in North Korea's ambitions to build a blue water navy. He had demanded the vessel be fully restored before a key ruling party meeting later this month.
State media reported on May 25 that several officials from the Chongjin Shipyard have been arrested over the launch failure.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
34 minutes ago
- Business Insider
NATO needs to get ready for modern war — and fast, top commander tells BI
NATO still has work to do before it becomes the 21st-century fighting force that it needs to be, and allies need to invest heavily in their domestic defense industries, a top commander told Business Insider. "I think it's a struggle," Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the man overseeing alliance modernization efforts, said during an interview this week at his office in Norfolk, Virginia. In recent decades, NATO militaries have been focused predominantly on lower-end counterinsurgency operations in places like Africa or Afghanistan, depending heavily on expeditionary forces enabled by uncontested airpower. In this context, allies thought differently about their own defense, and supporting industries were not sufficiently focused on preparing the alliance for a modern war against a top adversary. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 set off alarm bells throughout NATO, with Western officials warning that Moscow could feel emboldened to push deeper into Europe if it wasn't adequately deterred, presenting the alliance with the possibility of a large-scale conventional war or worse. The past three years have seen many NATO states dramatically boost their defense spending and buy more weaponry. Countries along the eastern and northern edges — the front lines of the alliance, as they share borders with Russia — are hardening their defenses. However, many still argue that there's more work to be done. "I think we forgot all the big principles of a symmetric war, and so it's where we need to reinvest," Vandier said, referring to a conflict in which combatants are more evenly matched. He added that because the defense industrial base shrank so much over the years, ramping it up is "very difficult." Delivering on high-end platforms like warships, fighter jets, and missiles can be a yearslong process. A single F-35 stealth aircraft, for instance, takes around 18 months to build. Vandier warned that if a fight breaks out before NATO has sufficiently bolstered its defenses, the alliance could have a major problem. He acknowledged that NATO still has a long way to go to reach its full potential as a modern fighting force. Member countries are pledging to spend more of their respective GDPs on defense, but the process of going from funding projects to delivery is far from quick. "It's a question of speed," Vandier said. In 2014, when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula, NATO members agreed to spend 2% of their national GDP on defense. Since then, amid increased Russian aggression, the number of allies that have met or exceeded that goal has steadily risen from three to 22 last year. Earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said all allies will reach the 2% target this year, though he is calling for heads of state to agree to a new target — 5%, in line with calls from the Trump administration — at a summit later this month. "The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defense," he said Monday at an event in London. "We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defense plans in full. The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends." Modernizing at speed In its quest to become a modern fighting force, NATO is also focused on integrating asymmetric solutions like drones and other new emerging technologies into its planning. The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have highlighted the value of uncrewed systems. Vandier and his Allied Command Transformation are at the forefront of these efforts. One initiative they've rolled out is Task Force X, an experiment underway in the Baltic Sea that uses drones, artificial intelligence, and other tech to monitor and deter aggressive Russian activity in the region. Unlike the West's traditional weapons procurement process, which can be slow, Task Force X is NATO's attempt to showcase its speed by quickly deploying cheap and readily available systems to counter Russia. It is simultaneously working to integrate emerging tech with traditional maritime operations. Vandier emphasized the importance of achieving what he described as "digital transformation at speed." He said that another crucial element in NATO's efforts to modernize is leveraging commercial space to improve command, control, communications, and computers, simply known as C4, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. "These are, I think, the two most critical domains for the alliance at war," the commander said. Meanwhile, NATO just shared it has signed a contract with US commercial satellite imaging company Planet Labs PBC in a first-of-its-kind agreement that will give the alliance expanded surveillance capabilities, helping it track potential threats such as new defensive fortifications or large troop build-ups along the eastern edge. Vandier said that, aside from the US, no other country in NATO had this capability and stressed that if America pivots all its surveillance focus to the Pacific, the alliance needs to be self-sufficient and have the resources to keep tabs on Russia, Ukraine, and the rest of Europe, from the Arctic down to the Black Sea. The seven-figure agreement is another example of NATO's efforts to modernize at speed and firm up Europe's defenses. "We've been able to do that in three months, from idea to delivery," Vandier said. "Three months to find the money, make the contract, put that in the field."
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China expresses deep concern about Israel's attacks on Iran, urges de-escalation
BEIJING (Reuters) -China was deeply concerned about the Israeli attacks on Iran and urged de-escalation for regional peace and stability, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday. "China opposes any infringement upon Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and opposes any escalation of tensions and expansion of conflicts. A sudden rise in regional tensions is not in the interests of any party," Spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing. Lin also said China was ready to play a constructive role in easing the situation. Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran promised a harsh response with Israel saying it was working to intercept about 100 drones launched towards its territory. Beijing and Tehran share friendly ties, supported by China's search for energy security through Iran's oil shipments and a wider strategy of increasing influence across the Middle East to rival the United States. Earlier on Friday, the Chinese embassies in Israel and Iran issued advisories to citizens warning of the "complex and severe" security situation in the two countries. The embassy in Tel Aviv also warned those in Israel to prepare for possible missile, rocket and drone attacks.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
The only trade certainty is uncertainty
The latest U.S. trade deal with China may let the economy take a brief breather, but it's far from being able to relax. Why it matters: Months of real-time uncertainty are being replaced with longer-term uncertainty, with trade policy living on three-to-six-month cycles that make business planning a nightmare. The big picture: Tariffs are still in place, prices are still (at least anecdotally) rising, and deal deadlines with dozens of countries still loom over the summer. Stocks may have priced in the TACO ("Trump Always Chickens Out") trade, but that doesn't help companies planning their operations. So-called hard economic data — inflation, jobs — remains strong. But the anecdotes, the real-world commentary from businesses, are getting more negative by the month. "We have members now that the tariff alone will cause them to go bankrupt. The margins are so tight on their product that they can't pass the price on, and they get caught," Ross Perot Jr., the new chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Axios this week. Indexes that measure trade policy uncertainty are almost literally off the charts, and surging again after a brief respite last month. Catch up quick: The U.S. and China agreed to a trade deal in Geneva in mid-May, which both sides almost immediately ignored. This week's London deal is supposed to cement actually implementing the May agreement, including faster Chinese approvals of rare earths exports and relaxed U.S. export controls on software and jet parts. Yes, but: The London deal was barely 12 hours old when the Wall Street Journal reported the Chinese would only approve the rare earths export licenses for six months at a time. For the makers of the hundreds of products with components that require rare earths, six months of certainty is an improvement — but also the start of an expensive race to stockpile parts before it all turns over again. Zoom in: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved the goalposts even further Wednesday, when he told a House panel it was " highly likely" the current pause on reciprocal tariffs would be extended for countries in talks. Hours later, President Trump told reporters he could extend the deadline if he wanted, but didn't think it was necessary, because the U.S. was getting ready to send out " take it or leave it" offers instead. What looked like a firm, universal July 8 deadline for dozens of countries now becomes a fungible, case-by-case affair. The intrigue: There's also the ongoing question of whether those tariffs are even legal or not. A federal court said no in late May, but an appellate court has stayed that ruling until at least the end of July. Administration officials say they have a Plan B if the courts ultimately strike down the current regime, raising the prospect of the global economy having to start over in the fall with a whole new program. By the numbers: The lingering uncertainty isn't really showing up in stocks, which remain near all-time highs, but the stress is unmistakable elsewhere. The U.S. Dollar Index, a basket of the dollar against other major currencies, has moved relentlessly lower even as stocks rallied. It remains the strongest example yet of the " sell America" trade that began in earnest in April, as investors seek safer havens elsewhere. "The US dollar remains a key barometer of trade sentiment, and its failure to extend higher in the wake of the so-called deal with China was telling. Now, it's under increased selling pressure once more, with the dollar index looking poised to hit a fresh 3-year low," Convera's lead currency and macro strategist George Vessey wrote Thursday morning. The bottom line: It's impossible to plan ahead with confidence in an economy like this.
