North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attended the launch ceremony of the Kang Kon destroyer at the Rajin shipyard, state-run media reported Friday. The destroyer, which was damaged during a failed launch attempt last month, was successfully launched on a second attempt. Photo by KCNA/EPA-EFE

June 13 (UPI) — North Korea successfully launched a 5,000-ton destroyer that was damaged during its first launch attempt last month, state-run media reported Friday, with leader Kim Jong Un in attendance and vowing to build two more warships next year.

The launch ceremony was held Thursday at the Rajin Shipyard, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Kim witnessed the destroyer’s botched launch on May 21, and called it a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism which is out of the bounds of possibility and could not be tolerated.”

He demanded that the warship be restored by the start of a ruling party congress in late June and warned of serious consequences for those found responsible for the launch mishap.

At least four officials have been arrested so far, including vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department Ri Hyong Son, according to state media.

The capsized ship, named the Kang Kon, was raised at Chongjin Shipyard last week and moved to the Rajin site on the northeastern tip of the country for repair.

In remarks delivered at the ceremony Thursday, Kim said that the failed launch “impaired the dignity and prestige of the country,” but claimed that it had not impeded the country’s naval modernization goals.

“No obstacle could delay the important course of bolstering up the naval combat power,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

“We safely raised and floated the ship in just two weeks after the accident, and today, we have concluded the complete restoration as planned,” he claimed.

It is unclear whether the ship has been fully repaired or when it will be ready for use.

“The vessel has yet to undergo critical phases before it can be deemed operational,” the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report Thursday. “It will require considerable time to complete fitting out, manufacturer’s trials and navy acceptance trials before being committed to operations.”

The Kang Kon was the second warship introduced by North Korea in recent months, following the launch of its 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer at the Nampo Shipyard on April 25. That vessel is armed with a wide range of weapons, including supersonic cruise missiles and strategic cruise missiles, according to North Korean reports.

Photos released by the North showed that the Choe Hyon’s missile and radar systems resemble those found on Russian vessels, prompting speculation that Pyongyang received technical assistance from Moscow in its development.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs.

In his remarks at the launch ceremony, Kim said the North “will continue to commission two destroyers of the same class or higher into the navy every year.”

He cited growing threats from the United States and its allies as a primary reason for the country’s warship construction plans.

“Recently, the provocative intentions of the United States and its military forces have become more and more hostile, and the level of threats to our safety has clearly gone far beyond dangerous limits,” Kim said. “Having ocean-going operational capability and exercising naval power in the ocean is an essential choice to protect national sovereignty and security interests.”

South Korea turns off propaganda loudspeakers to North

2 days ago Share Save Joel Guinto BBC News Reporting from Singapore Jean Mackenzie Seoul correspondent Share Save

Getty Images The speakers, seen in this file photo, broadcast propaganda across the border

South Korea’s military says it has suspended its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts across the border to North Korea, as part of a bid to “restore trust” between both countries. The move comes a week after the country elected its new president Lee Jae-myung, who had campaigned on improving inter-Korean ties. Pyongyang considers the loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts an act of war and has threatened to blow them up in the past. They were paused for six years but resumed in June last year in response to Pyongyang’s campaign of sending rubbish-filled balloons across the border to the South.

In recent years, the broadcasts have included news from both Koreas and abroad as well as information on democracy and life in the South. Ties between North and South Korea had deteriorated under previous president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was more hawkish towards Pyongyang. Yoon was impeached and removed from his post for briefly placing South Korea under martial law in December, citing supposed threats from anti-state forces and North Korea sympathisers. His successor, Lee, had campaigned on a series of pledges, including one to restart dialogue with Pyongyang and to reduce tensions between both countries. The move aims to “restore trust in inter-Korean relations and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula”, the military said in a statement. But organisations advocating to improve the human rights of North Koreans have criticised the suspension. “The loudspeakers were a vital bridge to the North Korean people, a reminder that they are not forgotten. By turning them off, we’ve only strengthened Kim Jong Un’s efforts to keep his people isolated,” said Hana Song, the executive director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, based in Seoul. “The fact that one of the new government’s first actions is to turn off the loudspeakers is a troubling sign,” she added. “It suggests we’re returning to the days of appeasing the North Korean regime.” But residents living along the border have welcomed the move. They have for months complained that their lives have been blighted by the noise of the loudspeakers coming from both the South and North, sometimes in the middle of the night. One border region, Ganghwa county, said in a statement: “We hope this decision will lead to an end to North Korea’s noise-based psychological warfare, allowing our residents to return to their normal daily lives.”

Watch: Why is rubbish coming from the sky in South Korea?

Officials race to tow burning ship away from India coast to prevent ‘ecological disaster’

Although visible flames have significantly reduced following firefighting efforts, the blaze remains active in the inner decks and near the fuel tanks, the ministry said.

The MV Wan Hai 503, which caught fire on Monday, is carrying 2,128 tonnes of fuel and hundreds of containers – including hazardous cargo – raising environmental concerns.

The Indian defence ministry on Wednesday said that the situation remains critical and efforts are under way to establish a tow line and pull the vessel away from the coast.

The Indian Coast Guard is trying to tow a burning Singapore-flagged cargo ship away from the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea, to prevent “a potential ecological disaster”.

It added that five salvage team members and an aircrew diver have been sent to help with the towing operation.

“The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously.”

The vessel, which was heading to Mumbai city on India’s western coast from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, caught fire after an internal container explosion.

Eighteen crew members have been rescued so far but four others are still missing and a massive rescue operation has been launched to find them.

The Indian Coast Guard said that conditions at sea remain unfavourable and that their priority was to extinguish the fire and prevent a marine disaster.

It has deployed five ships, two aircraft and a helicopter to help douse the fire. A separate salvage team appointed by the ship owner, along with two vessels from the shipping ministry, are also helping with the efforts.

This is the second shipping incident to have happened off Kerala’s coast in less than three weeks.

Last month, a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying oil and hazardous cargo leaked and sank in the Arabian Sea, triggering an environmental emergency.

The Kerala state government swiftly banned fishing within a 20-nautical mile radius of the shipwreck and announced compensation for families from fishing communities in four affected districts.

An underwater operation has been launched to cap the ship’s oil tank and salvage its fuel.

Manorama News reported that on Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of Ports issued a formal notice to the vessel’s management company, warning of legal action if extraction of oil from the ship is not started by Friday.

“The progress made in this operation is grossly inadequate and continues to fall short of the timelines and operational commitments previously provided by the salvors and owners,” it said.

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Missing Indian bride arrested for allegedly murdering husband on honeymoon

4 days ago Share Save Geeta Pandey • @geetapandeybbc BBC News, Delhi Share Save

Raghuvanshi family Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi were married on 11 May

Police in India say a woman, who had gone missing after her husband was found brutally murdered during their honeymoon, is in custody after she surrendered. The families of the couple had alleged that the bride had also either been killed or abducted and mounted a huge campaign to find her. Police now allege that Sonam Raghuvanshi, 25, hired killers to murder her 30-year-old husband Raja during their trip to the tiny north-eastern state of Meghalaya. Four men have also been arrested. Sonam’s father Devi Singh has defended his daughter saying “she is innocent and she cannot do this”.

The newly-wed couple from Indore city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh had chosen Meghalaya for their honeymoon because they had heard it had “very beautiful valleys”, Raja’s brother Sachin Raghuvanshi told the BBC at the weekend, before Sonam’s arrest. The couple had married on 11 May in Indore in a ceremony blessed by both their families. “Their marriage was arranged four months back and they were both happy and there had been no fights between the couple before or after marriage,” Raja’s other brother Vipin Raghuvanshi said. The couple left for Meghalaya on 20 May. But four days into their trip, they went missing. Police and disaster relief teams, accompanied by local people, searched for the couple. Videos from the area showed rescuers rappelling down hills and cliffs in valleys covered in mist. Officials said rain and low visibility were hampering the search operations. A week later, Raja’s decomposed body was found in a gorge with his throat slit and his wallet, a gold ring and a chain missing. And Sonam had disappeared without a trace. Their families mounted a huge campaign, accusing the Meghalaya police of not doing enough to solve Raja’s murder or find Sonam – an accusation contested by the state’s chief minister. The couple’s families demanded that the case be handed over to the federal police for a proper investigation and met influential caste leaders and federal ministers in their home state to lobby for this. Last Friday, they also wrote a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deliver justice for Raja and find Sonam.

Raghuvanshi family Their families say the couple had an arranged marriage and seemed happy

South Korean woman fined for pulling down male colleague’s trousers

The Chuncheon District Court’s ruling on Saturday rejected the woman’s claim that she had intended it to be a prank on her colleague, who is in his 20s.

The incident reportedly happened last October at a restaurant kitchen in Gangwon province in the north-east.

On top of the 2.8 million won ($2,100; £1,500) fine, the woman in her 50s has also been ordered to complete eight hours of sexual violence prevention education.

A South Korean court has fined a woman for sexual misconduct after she pulled down a colleague’s trousers – and his underwear, by accident – in front of their colleagues, local media reported.

But the court said it was taking into account the fact that she had no prior criminal record and had shown remorse. She had knelt down to apologise to the man and his parents, the judge said.

“It seems like they punished a simple prank too harshly,” says one comment under the Chosun Daily’s report of the case.

But another reader argues, “The fine is not excessive at all. Why are you playing this kind of prank? Does this look like a prank to you?”

Pulling down someone’s trousers, which could include underwear – “pantsing” or “debagging” as it’s known – is often seen as a common practical joke despite criticism that it is a form of bullying.

Pantsing has long been used as a comic routine on variety shows and reality TV in South Korea.

But it has got people in trouble as well. In 2019, South Korean Olympic short track speed skating champion Lim Hyo-jun was suspended for a year after he pulled down a male teammate’s trousers in front of other female skaters.

And in 2021, a group of elementary school students in North Jeolla Province were investigated for bullying a younger boy at a playground, after the victim’s mother told police that they had pulled her son’s pants down.