In some further reading this morning from various sources it seems the damage to this ship is growing gravely worse by the day (hour even). Seawater has now infiltrated large areas of the interior of the vessel, areas which cannot be accessed without structural disassembly of the ship itself. The seawater itself can be pumped out, but the corrosive effects of the saltwater on the steel structures cannot be removed and will continue unabated for the (likely short) lifespan of this ship. The full effect of the corrosive action hasn't even begun to be felt at this point, not in measurable terms anyway. But when the ship is righted (if it ever is), and the water pumped out, only then will the full effects of corrosion set in...when the submerged areas are exposed to the air. The longer the ship stays on its side, the more of these areas which get infiltrated, and thus the more systemic corrosion which takes place.
The other thing I saw which I found interesting is UK naval engineers have now had time take detailed measurements and perform some more involved calculations. They are now stating that because of the way the ship is laying, half on the pier and half off, the very keel of the ship is very likely bent. If this turns out to be accurate, it is something which cannot be corrected, no matter what other efforts the Norks employ to save the vessel. One leading naval engineering firm stated pretty emphatically that the ship is likely now a total loss, and at this point western nations would be left no choice but to break the ship, salvage the steel, melt it down, reforge it and rebuild the ship entirely. Now, that said, what the Norks ultimately decide to do with the ship is anyone's guess.
When you couple all this with the recent appearance of the balloon 'cover' over the vessel (so they can remove the blue tarps) which indicates the damage is even worse than any estimates so far, it presents an interesting engineering challenge for fatboy Kim.
On the one hand, they are likely attempting to obscure the ship from outside prying eyes because of something they are trying to hide. Beyond the likely physical damage, it is likely that if the ship were to be uncovered (tarps and balloons removed) this would reveal some engineering practices which are completely contrary to sound naval engineering practices. That's the one hand.
On the other hand, Kim is at a crossroads with this incident (a more fundamental crossroads than meets the eye). If the most responsible thing to do (in terms of accepted engineering principles) is to break the ship and start over, Kim will look even more foolish than ever by attempting to repair the vessel. Consequently, Kim has to make a decision which goes beyond the ship itself. This is now a matter of national pride and honor. Failure to do the right thing (now) will show the entire World just how mature, or immature, North Korea is as a nation. So, a lot hangs in the balance for Kim and the image of North Korea as a whole. Never before in the history of the country has such a massive blunder taken place which is plainly visible to the outside world.
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Another interesting little factoid I came across in my travels related to the North Korean navy is, as many may know, this is not the 1st ship like this for NK. It is actually the 2nd vessel of this type. The 1st destroyer, the 'Choi Hyon', was commissioned and launched in April 2025. Shortly after the launch, NK surprised many naval experts by seemingly launching two large anti-ship missiles from NK's new VLS (vertical launch system), technology which NK was previously thought to not possess.
This is what the outside world 'thought' they saw anyway.
But what actually happened is a little different than this (no surprise there, right?). While the Choi Hyon did apparently launch a missile, and it was from some sort of a VLS (how complete this system really is is unclear), but what the World didn't see was how the ship traveled to the launch point. It turns out that the vessel did not travel to the launching point under its own power, but was instead towed (at night) by tugs into position. This in and of itself is not shocking and could be explained by a variety of readiness issues. However, closer inspection revealed something quite a bit more surprising.
Upon closer inspection by western intelligence agencies the ship did not appear to be sitting in the water normally. It appeared to be both lighter and angled unexpectedly in the water. It now appears that the ship's main propulsion systems (the engines) have not been installed. To install the engines now, after the vessel has been launched, will require cutting the ship in half (two pieces basically) to retrofit the massive 2,500+ ton propulsion units inside the hull and there is more than one. These engines are on the order of 100 feet long, nearly 50 feet tall and around 40 feet wide...each. So, not a simple engine swap where you pop the hood and throw in a new motor...far from it.
Now, if you're familiar with the development timeline of these two ships (i.e. the wrecked one which failed to launch the other day, and the Choi Hyon discussed above which launched in April '25) you will know that each of these ships was constructed in less than 4 years. This is unheard of in the naval design and construction world for a ship of this size and complexity. Western analysts had been scratching their heads trying to understand how this would be possible when no other nation on Earth could accomplish the same thing. Well, now at least part of the answer is known...NK didn't work any miracles, they just launched a ship which wasn't finished yet (and it wasn't anywhere close to being finished either).
So...what those blue tarps and balloons are covering up on the failed launch ship might be very interesting indeed!!
The other thing I saw which I found interesting is UK naval engineers have now had time take detailed measurements and perform some more involved calculations. They are now stating that because of the way the ship is laying, half on the pier and half off, the very keel of the ship is very likely bent. If this turns out to be accurate, it is something which cannot be corrected, no matter what other efforts the Norks employ to save the vessel. One leading naval engineering firm stated pretty emphatically that the ship is likely now a total loss, and at this point western nations would be left no choice but to break the ship, salvage the steel, melt it down, reforge it and rebuild the ship entirely. Now, that said, what the Norks ultimately decide to do with the ship is anyone's guess.
When you couple all this with the recent appearance of the balloon 'cover' over the vessel (so they can remove the blue tarps) which indicates the damage is even worse than any estimates so far, it presents an interesting engineering challenge for fatboy Kim.
On the one hand, they are likely attempting to obscure the ship from outside prying eyes because of something they are trying to hide. Beyond the likely physical damage, it is likely that if the ship were to be uncovered (tarps and balloons removed) this would reveal some engineering practices which are completely contrary to sound naval engineering practices. That's the one hand.
On the other hand, Kim is at a crossroads with this incident (a more fundamental crossroads than meets the eye). If the most responsible thing to do (in terms of accepted engineering principles) is to break the ship and start over, Kim will look even more foolish than ever by attempting to repair the vessel. Consequently, Kim has to make a decision which goes beyond the ship itself. This is now a matter of national pride and honor. Failure to do the right thing (now) will show the entire World just how mature, or immature, North Korea is as a nation. So, a lot hangs in the balance for Kim and the image of North Korea as a whole. Never before in the history of the country has such a massive blunder taken place which is plainly visible to the outside world.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another interesting little factoid I came across in my travels related to the North Korean navy is, as many may know, this is not the 1st ship like this for NK. It is actually the 2nd vessel of this type. The 1st destroyer, the 'Choi Hyon', was commissioned and launched in April 2025. Shortly after the launch, NK surprised many naval experts by seemingly launching two large anti-ship missiles from NK's new VLS (vertical launch system), technology which NK was previously thought to not possess.
This is what the outside world 'thought' they saw anyway.
But what actually happened is a little different than this (no surprise there, right?). While the Choi Hyon did apparently launch a missile, and it was from some sort of a VLS (how complete this system really is is unclear), but what the World didn't see was how the ship traveled to the launch point. It turns out that the vessel did not travel to the launching point under its own power, but was instead towed (at night) by tugs into position. This in and of itself is not shocking and could be explained by a variety of readiness issues. However, closer inspection revealed something quite a bit more surprising.
Upon closer inspection by western intelligence agencies the ship did not appear to be sitting in the water normally. It appeared to be both lighter and angled unexpectedly in the water. It now appears that the ship's main propulsion systems (the engines) have not been installed. To install the engines now, after the vessel has been launched, will require cutting the ship in half (two pieces basically) to retrofit the massive 2,500+ ton propulsion units inside the hull and there is more than one. These engines are on the order of 100 feet long, nearly 50 feet tall and around 40 feet wide...each. So, not a simple engine swap where you pop the hood and throw in a new motor...far from it.
Now, if you're familiar with the development timeline of these two ships (i.e. the wrecked one which failed to launch the other day, and the Choi Hyon discussed above which launched in April '25) you will know that each of these ships was constructed in less than 4 years. This is unheard of in the naval design and construction world for a ship of this size and complexity. Western analysts had been scratching their heads trying to understand how this would be possible when no other nation on Earth could accomplish the same thing. Well, now at least part of the answer is known...NK didn't work any miracles, they just launched a ship which wasn't finished yet (and it wasn't anywhere close to being finished either).
So...what those blue tarps and balloons are covering up on the failed launch ship might be very interesting indeed!!