Category
Latest news

Damaged North Korean Warship Moved to Drydock Near Russian Border, Satellite Images Show

3 min read
Authors
Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
Author
Damaged North Korean Warship Moved to Drydock Near Russian Border, Satellite Images Show
Maxar satellite imagery shows a damaged Choe Hyon-class destroyer docked at the Rajin repair facility following its recovery from a failed launch at Chongjin on May 22. (Source: Getty Images)

North Korea has moved a newly launched destroyer, damaged during a botched launch in May, to a port near the Russian border, which could signal Russian involvement in the vessel’s repair, CNN reported on June 9.

Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies show the 5,000-ton destroyer in drydock at Rajin, a port within North Korea’s Rason special economic zone, which borders Russia. The unnamed warship capsized on May 21 when its stern slid into the water while the bow remained stuck on land, causing the ship to roll onto its side in a launch failure.

Maxar satellite imagery captures a newly constructed destroyer docked at the Hambuk Shipyard in Chongjin before its scheduled launch, on May 23, 2025. The ship appears structurally complete and positioned at the edge of the slipway days before the reported accident. (Source: Getty Images)
Maxar satellite imagery captures a newly constructed destroyer docked at the Hambuk Shipyard in Chongjin before its scheduled launch, on May 23, 2025. The ship appears structurally complete and positioned at the edge of the slipway days before the reported accident. (Source: Getty Images)
Maxar imagery shows continued efforts to conceal the damaged destroyer at Hambuk Shipyard one day after the failed launch on May 25. The ship remains on its side along the dock, draped in blue tarps, with minimal visible repair activity. (Source: Getty Images)
Maxar imagery shows continued efforts to conceal the damaged destroyer at Hambuk Shipyard one day after the failed launch on May 25. The ship remains on its side along the dock, draped in blue tarps, with minimal visible repair activity. (Source: Getty Images)

Though Rajin lacks the heavy shipbuilding capabilities of Chongjin, where the accident occurred, it does have infrastructure for light repairs and maintenance. But more importantly, analysts say, Rajin’s location makes it a strategic gateway for North Korea’s deepening relationship with Moscow.

“Rajin is a key node for North Korea’s efforts to deepen economic and potentially military ties with Moscow,” said Yu Jihoon, director of external cooperation and associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, in comments to CNN.

A 2024 report by the Modern War Institute at West Point described Rason as “a significant point of North Korea–Russia cooperation, recently implicated in North Korean arms shipments to Russia for use in Ukraine.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who personally attended the ill-fated launch, has ordered that repairs be completed by the ruling Workers’ Party’s late-June plenary session—calling the recovery “a matter of national honor.”

State media reported that the Rajin-based repair effort would take seven to ten days, seemingly in line with Kim’s directive. But how much damage the ship sustained remains unclear.

Retired South Korean Admiral Kim Duk-ki told CNN the ship’s sonar and depth-finding equipment, typically located in the bow, may have been damaged in the failed launch—and fixing them would likely require foreign expertise.

“North Korea is believed to lack the technology for sonar systems, so they likely imported them from China or Russia,” Kim said.

However, South Korean lawmaker Yu Yong-weon offered a more conservative assessment, citing the South Korean military’s evaluation. “The vessel’s external damage doesn’t seem significant, and the main issue seems to be the water flooding into the warship,” Yu told CNN.

Analysts noted that repairs will likely include purging the ship’s interior spaces, electronics, and machinery of seawater and salt.

Yu added that Russian technical assistance was a possibility — though difficult to verify if limited to engineers rather than large-scale equipment transfers.

Earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his country’s support for Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine, during a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang.

See all