Four North Korean officials arrested over failed warship launch in front of Kim Jong Un, face imminent execution
Why is Kim Jong Un so furious?
Live Events
How did the launch go so wrong?
What could happen to the arrested officials?
FAQs
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
A North Korean warship launch went very wrong, and now high-ranking officials are paying the price. The destroyer tipped over and sank on its first trip, which made Kim Jong Un very angry.The failed warship launch that damaged a newly built destroyer led to the arrest of four North Korean officials. People see the disaster as a big step back for North Korea's plans to modernize its navy.The lives of those four North Korean officials detained for the disastrous destroyer launch are in grave danger.Days after the nameless 5,000-ton destroyer's disastrous launch, which caused the ship to capsize onto its side and damage its hull, the arrests were made.According to North Korean experts, Kim Jong Un could even kill four officials who were detained. "I would say there's a very good chance they'd be executed," stated Joseph S. Bermudez, a North Korean defense analyst at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, as quoted in a report by Business Insider.The rapidity with which state-run North Korean media reported on the incident that damaged its newest warship and identified the officials involved was one startling feature. The announcements' high level of publicity implies Kim is "very upset," Bermudez continued.Bermudez said the Choe Hyon-class destroyer advances Kim's goal of turning North Korea's coastal navy into a blue-water fleet. He called that project's setback a "slap in the face" for Kim.It is thought that the mechanism that rolled the ship into the water broke down, causing the aft portion of the ship to lie in the water and flood while the bow of the ship became stuck on the pier.The chief engineer of the shipyard, the head of the hull construction workshop, and a deputy manager for administrative affairs were all held directly responsible for the arrests, which were reported by state-run media.First on the list was Ri Hyong Son, who was also arrested while serving as the vice director of the Korean Workers' Party Central Committee's Munitions Industry Department.It was one of two next-generation Choe Hyon-class destroyers. Bermudez told BI that the eastern Chongjin Shipyard, which rarely builds large warships, built the second.North Korea tried a sideways launch instead of drydock or a slipway, which the workers may not have been used to with a larger vessel, he said.According to satellite photos taken on Monday, there was evidence of a dredging operation at the harbor entrance, and the ship's bow was still stuck on the pier.Exactly what will happen to the officials named is unknown. Although the legal system can impose a variety of penalties, "due process" is frequently a deterrent. North Korea put two unidentified nuclear power plant construction researchers to death in January for not finishing their project and raising the bar for technology. Their less experienced coworkers were taken to what is thought to be a political prison camp.Whatever the penalty, one thing is certain that the officials' families will also be impacted. According to the reasoning of the North Korean legal system, convictions are "because of a significant family flaw," which implies that the family must be dealt with for three generations.Experts believe it is very likely, particularly given Kim Jong Un's swift and public outrage.A botched sideways launch tilted and flooded the vessel, most likely due to inadequate preparation at an inexperienced shipyard.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India would not have conducted strikes without convincing evidence, Shashi Tharoor replies to question from his journalist son
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Congress MP Shashi Tharoor , leading a multi-party delegation to the US, was on Thursday asked a question by his journalist son regarding whether government interlocutors sought evidence of Pakistan's culpability in the Pahalgam attack to which he replied India would not have conducted Operation Sindoor without convincing evidence."That shouldn't be allowed. This is my son," Tharoor said laughing, during an interaction at the Council on Foreign Relations when his son Ishaan Tharoor, global affairs columnist with the Washington Post, stood up to ask him a question."Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post. Definitely asking a question in a personal capacity. Mostly to say hi before you go off to your next engagement," Ishaan said."I'm curious though, on this tour you've been on various countries in the Western Hemisphere. Have any of your government interlocutors asked you to show evidence of Pakistan's culpability in the initial attack? And what do you say to the repeated Pakistani denials of having any hand in the initial attack?" Ishaan asked."I'm very glad you raised this, Ishaan. I didn't plant it. I promise you. This guy does this to his dad," Tharoor replied amid laughter from the audience."Very simply, no one had any doubt, and we were not asked for evidence, but media have asked, and so you are speaking for your tribe, and that in two or three places, media asked this question," the Congress leader said."Let me say very clearly that India would not have done this without convincing evidence," Tharoor said."I can assure you, India is not the kind of country that would undertake a military operation without a very solid basis for doing so. This was not some random terror attack. I must say, our government counts 24 terrorist attacks in the course of last year emanating from Pakistan, but none of them required this kind of response," he said."We dealt with them. We either got the terrorists or killed them, minimal damage, a very little loss of life. We dealt with it. This showed all the hallmarks of a sophisticated, planned, deliberate operation with reconnaissance, with intelligence work, with a modus operandi worked out this cynical exercise of asking people their religion, shooting them between the eyes," he said India has had a 37-year pattern of repeated terror attacks from Pakistan accompanied by repeated denials."Americans haven't forgotten that Pakistan allegedly didn't know where Osama bin Laden was until he was found in a Pakistani safe house right next to an army camp in a cantonment city," he the Mumbai attacks , Tharoor said they denied having anything to do with it, but one of the terrorists was caught alive; his name, his identity, his address in Pakistan, everything was revealed, and he disclosed where he was trained."The US intelligence, as well as ours, recorded the voice of a Pakistani handler giving minute-by-minute instructions to the killers in Mumbai... So, we know what Pakistan is all about," he added."They will dispatch terrorists. They will deny they did so until they're caught with red hands," he said that minutes after the Pahalgam attack happened, a group called the Resistance Front claimed credit. "Who are the Resistance Front? They're a well-known proxy front of the Lashkar-e-Taiba , a banned terrorist organization," he added.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Donald Trump, Xi Jinping hold call: Did the Chinese President get the better of the American President on tariffs?
Did China call out American bluff? Live Events Why Trump directly deals with Xi on Tariffs FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping had a phone call on Thursday to talk about tariffs. Both leaders agreed to continue talks between their countries to solve tariff problems that are affecting the global economy, as per posted online saying, 'There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products' and added that the teams would meet soon. Xi invited Trump to visit China again, and Trump said thank asked the U.S. to look at the progress made and remove the negative actions taken against China. The call came during growing tension over 'rare earth' minerals, which are important for making tech and defense May 12, the U.S. and China had made a 90-day deal to reduce some of the high tariffs each had placed on the other since Trump's January return to though this deal made stock markets go up, it didn't solve deeper issues like, U.S. complaints about China's trade style, Fentanyl drug trafficking, Taiwan's political status. Since January, Trump has often made trade threats, but sometimes changed his mind later. This confused world leaders and April, China stopped sending out key minerals and magnets. This affected global car, chip, and defense companies. China is using these mineral exports as a pressure tool. If the U.S. economy slows down because of supply issues, it could hurt Trump 90-day deal is shaky. Trump accused China of breaking it, raised steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, and restricted chip-related exports to China. China denied breaking the deal and warned the U.S. about U.S. sees China as its main global rival in economy and military. Despite tension, Trump often says good things about Xi, including admiring his strength and long rule. Trump really wanted a call or meeting with Xi, but China didn't want to do it until both sides had worked out and his team think leader-to-leader talks help solve problems better than lower-level meetings. China said Thursday's call happened because Trump asked for it. It's not clear when they last spoke. Trump says they talked before his January 20 return, but China says they hadn't spoken are watching the talks carefully. They are worried the trade fight could hurt companies and mess up supply chains before the Christmas season. Now Trump's tariff rules are challenged by some people in the U.S. and are taking it to 2017 Trump and Xi met, but they haven't met face to face since 2019 in Osaka, Japan. Xi last came to the U.S. in November 2023. He met President Joe Biden then. That meeting helped restart military talks and slow down fentanyl drug talk about taxes on trade and try to fix problems between their are important materials for making phones, cars, and weapons. China is not sending them out to pressure the U.S.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Justice Oka highlights the interconnection between environmental justice and social justice at Climate Change Conference
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Former Supreme Court judge Abhay S Oka on Thursday said that environmental justice , as developed by India's constitutional courts, is deeply intertwined with the idea of social justice 'It is my privilege to address this gathering on a very important subject, the environment, which is dear to me. As a judge of the Bombay High Court, Karnataka High Court, and Supreme Court, I was lucky enough to deal with many environmental matters,' Justice Oka said at the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) Climate Change Conference and Awards emphasized that environmental issues go beyond preserving nature and have direct consequences on the lives and health of human beings.'When we talk about environmental justice, social justice inevitably comes into the picture. Protection of the environment is not only necessary for preserving natural resources available on planet Earth, but more importantly, it is essential for human beings to lead a healthy, constructive, and meaningful life. If we are not able to preserve our environment and protect it from degradation, we are doing an injustice to society at large,' he gave Delhi's recurring winter air pollution crisis as an example of inequality in environmental access.'That is where social justice comes into the picture. One classic example is Delhi. Every year, from December to February, we are hit by massive air pollution. Most of the people present here today can afford air purifiers at home, but the majority of Delhi's population living in shanties or working on the streets can't afford air purifiers.'Justice Oka stressed that constitutional guarantees of social justice must include environmental protection, citing how pollution affects livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable communities like fishermen.'Take, for example, pollution of our rivers or our seas affects the livelihood of the fishing community. Thus, every environmental issue, every degradation, every destruction of the environment has a direct nexus with social justice guaranteed by the Constitution.'He highlighted that environmental degradation also affects economic justice and the national economy, disproportionately impacting the poor. He reaffirmed the significance of legal doctrines such as sustainable development and the polluter pays principle , developed by courts to safeguard environmental also questioned the country's definition of development: whether it should be limited to infrastructure like highways and flyovers, or be reoriented toward providing essentials to the poor. He warned that the current path would render sustainable development from over four decades of legal experience, he observed that very few citizens engage with environmental concerns seriously, and those who do are often labeled as anti-development.'I have been part of several environmental decisions in the Bombay High Court, Karnataka High Court, and the Supreme Court. What I find from my long experience of 20 years as a lawyer and nearly 22 years as a judge of three constitutional courts is that very few citizens show enthusiasm and courage to take up environmental issues. It is not easy to address environmental concerns, as those who raise these issues rarely get active societal support.'He added that environmental defenders are often misunderstood and vilified for standing against damaging practices.'Those advocating environmental causes rarely received societal support, and in such a case, how could they expect to receive support from the government?'Referring to the landmark MC Mehta case, Justice Oka said the Supreme Court's directions laid the foundation for environmental jurisprudence, but questioned if society has truly honored those who led the charge.'Have we adequately honoured or remembered him (Mehta, who filed the PIL), especially today, as we celebrate World Environment Day?'He also reflected on his past work addressing noise pollution caused by illegal loudspeaker use during festivals.'Noise pollution caused by religious festivals affects human health seriously. Everyone has a constitutional right not to be compelled to hear what they don't wish to, yet illegal use of loudspeakers continues, forcing people to endure unwanted noise. Noise pollution isn't just irritating, it impacts hearing capacity and brain functioning.'Justice Oka concluded with a call for humility and awareness, emphasizing that humanity is a part of nature—not its owner.'We degrade and destroy the environment under the wrong notion that the earth belongs to us, but in fact, we belong to the earth. Some of us are under the wrong notion that the environment belongs to us. In fact, we belong to the environment.'Quoting Article 21 of the Constitution, he reminded that the right to dignity includes the right to live in a clean, pollution-free environment.'If you are living in an atmosphere polluted by air and other forms of pollution, you cannot live with dignity. Protecting the environment, including the manmade and natural environments, is of great concern for human existence.'[Inputs from PTI]
