Latest news with #Rason
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Damaged North Korean warship taken for repairs on Russian border
A new North Korean warship that partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony has been moved to a port near Russia for repair. Analysts say Moscow may intend to help repair the stricken 5,000-ton destroyer, after satellite pictures showed it at a dry dock in a port which borders Russia's Far East. The Rajin Ship Repair Factory is not a major shipbuilding facility, unlike the shipyard in the north-eastern city of Chongjin where the launching accident occurred. It has only modest facilities for repairs and maintenance, Yu Jihoon, director of external co-operation and an associate research fellow at Korea Institute for Defence Analyses told CNN. But its border location makes it important for deepening North Korea and Russia's military ties, analysts say. The unnamed Choe Hyun-class destroyer suffered a failed launch on May 21 and was left lying on its side with its hull crushed. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, attended the bungled launching ceremony and declared it a 'criminal act caused by absolute carelessness'. Several officials have been detained since the embarrassing accident and Kim ordered the ship be repaired by late June, calling it a matter of national honour. The Rajin shipyard is part of North Korea's Rason special economic zone, which abuts both China and Russia and is the isolated nation's only designated area to promote foreign investment and trade. According to US and South Korean intelligence, the port is a major hub for transferring arms shipments to Russia to be used against Ukraine. It has also produced many of North Korea's larger warships for decades, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said. 'Once any critical repairs or restoration work are completed, the vessel will likely be transferred to the shipyard's fitting out dock, where its weapons and other systems will be installed and subsequently commissioned,' the think tank said in a report on the most recent satellite images of the port. In another embarrassing turn for Kim, North Korea appeared to lack the heavy machinery needed to move the partially submerged warship. According to analysis of satellite imagery, dozens of blimp-sized balloons and the brute force of hundreds of workers were instead used to lift it out of the water. The Choe Hyun destroyers are North Korea's largest warships yet, part of Kim's push to upgrade its naval power with vessels capable of carrying and launching dozens of missiles. The movement of the warship comes amid expanding military co-operation between North Korea and Russia, after the signing of a mutual defence treaty last June. Kim reaffirmed his 'unconditional support' for Moscow's war against Ukraine last week, news sources reported. Since the full-scale invasion, Pyongyang has sent around 14,000 soldiers to Russia to help expel Kyiv's troops from its Kursk border region. It has also sent 20,000 containers of munitions, according to a report by a UN monitoring team in May. The shipments, according to estimates, include nine million rounds of artillery, more than 100 ballistic missiles and 200 heavy artillery munitions, as well as anti-tank guided missiles and rockets. In return, the UN said, Moscow has given Pyongyang valuable weapons technologies, including air defence and electronic warfare systems and helped its ally improve its missile performance, in a major violation of international sanctions.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Satellite images show damaged North Korean warship moved to drydock near Russian border
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 Sunday by Maxar Technologies show the 5,000-ton 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 Defense Analyses. 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 maneuver. 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 honor. 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 defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare systems as well as refined oil, the watchdog said last month.
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Satellite images show damaged North Korean warship moved to drydock near Russian border
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 Sunday by Maxar Technologies show the 5,000-ton 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 Defense Analyses. 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 maneuver. 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 honor. 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 defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare systems as well as refined oil, the watchdog said last month.
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Satellite images show damaged North Korean warship moved to drydock near Russian border
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 Sunday by Maxar Technologies show the 5,000-ton 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 Defense Analyses. 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 maneuver. 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 honor. 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 defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare systems as well as refined oil, the watchdog said last month.
