SEOUL, May 23 (UPI) -- North Korea began a full-scale investigation into an accident that damaged a new warship at its launch ceremony this week, state-run media reported Friday, with investigators vowing that those culpable "can never evade their responsibility for the crime."
The accident occurred on Wednesday at the Chongjin Shipyard during the launch ceremony for the 5,000-ton destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was in attendance, called the incident a "criminal act" and said it "could not be tolerated."
South Korea's military assessed afterward that the North had attempted to "side-launch" the vessel by sliding it into the water sideways rather than launching it from a drydock, a technique analysts believe Pyongyang had never used before.
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus Space and shared on X on Thursday by British research organization Open Source Centre showed the warship listing on its side, draped by blue tarpaulins. OSC called the coverings "a visible attempt to contain the disaster."
While the North's initial media account on Thursday claimed that sections of the ship's hull were crushed during the launch mishap, Friday's report in state-run Korean Central News Agency downplayed the damage.
