New satellite images show that North Korea has deployed what appear to be balloons alongside its damaged 5,000-ton warship that has been laying on its side and partially submerged since a botched launch last week. <\/p>\n
The stricken destroyer was the country\u2019s newest warship and was meant to be a triumph of North Korea\u2019s ambitious naval modernization effort. Instead, a malfunction in the launch mechanism on May 21 caused the stern to slide prematurely into the water, crushing parts of the hull and leaving the bow stranded on the shipway, state media KCNA reported, in a rare admission of bad news. <\/p>\n
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the failed launch in the northeastern city of Chongjin, called it a \u201ccriminal act\u201d and ordered the country to swiftly repair the as-yet-unnamed ship before the late-June plenary session of the ruling Workers\u2019 Party, calling it a matter of national honor. <\/p>\n
Officials have since scrambled to undo the damage and punish those they claim are responsible, detaining four people in recent days, including the shipyard\u2019s chief engineer. <\/p>\n
Analysts say it appears balloons are being used in North Korea\u2019s effort to swiftly repair the destroyer. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like what appear to be balloons have been installed not to refloat the ship, but to prevent the ship from further flooding,\u201d said Rep. Yu Yong-weon, a South Korean National Assembly lawmaker and military analyst. <\/p>\n
Retired United States Navy Cpt. Carl Schuster said if the objects are indeed balloons, they could have one of two purposes \u2013 either to prevent \u201clow- to mid-level drone reconnaissance,\u201d or to reduce the stress on the part of the ship still stranded on the pier. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the area that is most likely to have been damaged, suffered the most severe damage and remains under intense stress while the forward area remains out of the water,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said North Korea could be in danger of further damaging the ship if it\u2019s using balloons to keep it afloat or raise it. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is highly likely that the ship is under quite a lot of stress anyway,\u201d and lifting from above could compound those stresses, he said. <\/p>\n
Normal procedure would be to get as much buoyancy as possible in the ship and then raise it from below, Childs said. <\/p>\n
According to satellite images shared by Maxar Technologies, more than a dozen white, balloon-like objects have been deployed around the destroyer since May 23. <\/p>\n
The images don\u2019t appear to show any flotation bladders supporting the hull or the body of the ship, Schuster said \u2013 something the US might use in such a situation. He added that North Korea\u2019s maritime industry might not be advanced enough for such techniques. <\/p>\n
North Korean state media had previously reported that the damage was less severe than initially feared, and that there were no holes in the hull, though it was scratched along the side and some seawater had entered the stern. It estimated repairs could take about 10 days \u2013 though analysts are skeptical. <\/p>\n
The ship\u2019s precarious position also makes the salvage operation unusually complex. \u201cHaving it half in and half out of the water is basically the worst possible situation,\u201d said Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a nonprofit specializing in defense research. <\/p>\n
He added that the operation would be simpler if the ship had fully capsized into the water, or if it had fallen over entirely on land. \u201cBut as it\u2019s half on land and half on water \u2013 if you try to pull the sunken half out, you\u2019re risking twisting and breaking the keel,\u201d Eveleth said, referring to the structural spine running along the ship\u2019s bottom. \u201cAnd if you do that, the whole ship is junk.\u201d <\/p>\n
Childs said North Korea may have to cut the ship into pieces and then try to salvage what it can because righting it from its current position is an extremely complex task. <\/p>\n
\u201cVery often the only way you clear the dock \u2026 is to dismantle at least part of the ship to make the operation easier, right what you have left and tow it away and make a decision on whether you rebuild it or scrap it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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