New satellite images show that North Korea has used what balloons seem to be next to the damaged 5000 tons warship that is on its side and has been partially immersed since a failed launch last week.
Although the purpose of the objects is unclear, experts CNN said that they could be used to get the ship upright or to protect against the curious eyes of drones.
The affected torpedo hunter was the newest warship in the country and was intended as a triumph of the ambitious navy modernization effort of North Korea. Instead, a malfunction in the launch mechanism on 21 May ensured that the stern moved into the water prematurely, left parts of the hull and left the bow on the Shipway, state media KCNA, in a rare recording of bad news.
The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the failed launch in the northeastern city of Chongjin, called it a “criminal act” and ordered the country to quickly repair the ship not yet mentioned before the late June plenary session of the reigning employee party and called it a matter of national honor.
Since then, civil servants have dragged along to undo the damage and to punish those they claim to be responsible, holding four people in recent days, including the chief engineer of the shipyard.
Analysts say it seems that balloons are being used in the efforts of Noord -Korea to quickly repair the torpedo hunter.
“It seems that some balloons seem to be installed not to reflect the ship, but to prevent the ship from further flooding further floods,” said Rep. Yu Yong-Wee, a legislator and military analyst of the South Korean national meeting.
Retired American Navy CPT. Carl Schuster said that if the objects are indeed balloons, they can have one of the two goals- or to “prevent drone exploration at low to middle level”, or to reduce the stress on the part of the ship on the pier.
“That is the area that was most likely damaged, has suffered the most serious damage and remains under intense stress while the front area stays out of the water,” he said.
Nick Childs, senior fellow for maritime forces and maritime safety at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Noord -Korea can further damage the ship if it uses balloons to keep it up or cancel.
“It is very likely that the ship has a lot of stress anyway,” and lifting from above could worsen that stress, he said.
Normal procedure would be to get as much buoyancy as possible in the ship and then increase it from below, Childs said.
According to satellite images shared by Maxar Technologies, more than a dozen white, balloon -like objects have been deployed around the Destroyer since 23 May.
Based on the form of the objects and what seems to be tail fins, the smaller versions of what is known as aerostat aircraft, balloons with a slight resemblance to Digibles, told Defense experts to CNN. Just like Blimps, pebbling stones get buoying power from a lifting gas with which they can float in air or in water.
The images do not seem to show flot sheets that support the hull or body of the ship, Schuster said – something that the US could use in such a situation. He added that the maritime industry of Noord -Korea may not be sufficiently advanced for such techniques.
North Korean state media had previously reported that the damage was less serious than initially feared, and that there were no gaps in the hull, although it had been scratched along the side and what seawater had entered the stern. The estimated repairs could take about 10 days – although analysts are skeptical.
Schuster had previously told CNN that repair work can take up to six months, depending on how far the hull damage extends, how much water the warship entered and how much “salt crust” would have formed on metal surfaces such as joints.
The precarious position of the ship also makes the storage room unusually complex. “Half in and half out of the water is actually the worst possible situation,” said Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a non -profit organization that specializes in defense research.
He added that the operation would be easier if the ship was completely cut into the water, or if it had completely fallen on land. “But because it is half on the land and half on water – if you try to take the sunken half out, you run the risk of turning the keel and breaking,” said Eveleth, referring to the structural spine that runs along the bottom of the ship. “And if you do that, the whole ship is junk.”
Childs said that Noord -Korea might have to cut the ship into pieces and then try to save what it is possible, because justifying the right from his current position is an extremely complex task.
“Very often the only way you knew the Dok … is to dismantle at least part of the ship to make the operation easier, good what you are transferred and leaving and to make a decision about whether you build it up or scrap it again,” he said.
Jessie Yeung from CNN contributed to this report.
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