Analysis

What Happened to North Korea’s Warship?

May 30, 2025, by and

What happened to the failed launch and damage of North Korea’s second guided missile destroyer on May 21, 2025? What caused the failure at the Hambuk Shipyard in Chongjin, which lacks significant expertise in manufacturing and launching large warships such as the new destroyer? What do we know about the ongoing salvage operations to recover the Choe Hyon-class destroyer? And what does this mean for Kim Jong-un’s planned timeline for the development of the KPN from a coastal defense force into a nascent blue-water force capable of strategic offensive operations?

CSIS’ Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Sydney Seiler answers all these questions and more in this new explainer video. 


Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. is a Senior Fellow for Imagery Analysis with the iDeas Lab and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 
 
Sydney Seiler is Senior Adviser (non-resident) with the CSIS Korea Chair and was the national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council from 2020 to 2023.