Kim Jong Un Demands Criminal Probe After Shipyard Disaster

North Korea’s ambitious bid to bolster its blue-water navy has capsized in spectacular fashion. On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at the shipyard in Chongjin, a gleaming 5,000-ton destroyer — North Korea’s most advanced warship to date — lurched off its cradle and rolled onto its side, draped awkwardly in tarps and half-submerged in frigid waters. Leader Kim Jong Un, who had personally overseen ceremony rehearsals and pose-perfect photo-ops, erupted in fury, blaming “criminal negligence” and ordering a full criminal probe into the fiasco.