A dramatic launch ceremony for a newly built 5,000-ton warship turned into a nightmare in North Korea – right in front of Kim Jong-un, reports the Korean Central News Agency.

The dictator personally attended the high-profile unveiling at Cheongjin Shipyard on May 21, only for the event to end in disaster when a serious accident struck during the launch.

What should have been a proud moment for the regime ended in chaos as the launch process spiralled out of control. Officials failed to coordinate the the launch sequence.

The mistake saw the stern sled release prematurely, becoming stranded, and leaving the bow section hopelessly stuck. The ship's balance was thrown off, with dents forming in the hull and the entire process grinding to a humiliating halt.

Comrade Kim Jong-un observed the blunder unfold and didn’t hold back in his reaction. He delivered a scathing rebuke, calling it a “serious accident that could not have happened, could not be tolerated,” and branded it a “criminal act caused by pure carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism.”

The supreme leader warned that those responsible – including top officials from the Department of Munitions Industry of the Party Central Committee, the Institute of Dynamics of the State Academy of Sciences, Kim Chaek University of Technology, the Central Ship Design Institute, and Cheongjin Shipyard – would be held fully accountable.

He said they would “not avoid being dealt with” when the ruling party's Central Committee holds its plenary meeting next month.

Kim Jong-un also made it clear that fixing the destroyer wasn’t just about repairing a ship, but restoring national dignity. He said: “Urgent restoration of the destroyer is not a simple practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state.”

He demanded the ship be fully restored before the June Plenary Meeting, urging the working classes at Chongjin and Rajin Shipyards to show “ardent patriotic loyalty and labor devotion” in salvaging the situation.

Finally, Kim gave “important instructions” regarding the next steps for the accident investigation group – underlining just how seriously the regime is taking this embarrassing failure.