A satellite image has been released showing an object presumed to be a balloon attached to a 5,000-ton-class new destroyer that failed to launch on the 21st at Chongjin Port in North Korea, attempting to keep it afloat. Experts in the domestic shipbuilding industry said that using a balloon to buoy a vessel is an unprecedented approach.
On the 26th, Decker Everless from the U.S. think tank Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) released satellite images of the scene of the North Korean destroyer's accident on X (formerly Twitter). Several objects resembling balloons are floating atop the new destroyer covered with a blue waterproof tarp. There is also a barge equipped with a crane nearby the destroyer.
Everless noted, "This could be an attempt to lift the destroyer inspired by the 2009 movie 'Up.'" In 'Up,' a house is buoyed by thousands of balloons and travels to another continent.
Experts believe that North Korea is resorting to this method because it could not acquire a marine crane to set the vessel upright. One official explained, "This buoyancy method using balloons is something we are seeing for the first time, and its feasibility is questionable. It seems they used buoyant materials to prevent further sinking. The crane attached to the barge is merely an auxiliary means."
Meanwhile, Chairman Kim Jong Un observed the accident scene and stated, "This has brought down the dignity and pride of our nation in an instant," directing the punishment of those responsible and ordering the restoration of the hull by the end of June. North Korea is understood to have detained five individuals related to the destroyer incident.