North Korea has arrested Ri Hyong-son, a senior military official, in connection with the failed launch of a newly developed 5,000-ton warship, according to state media reports on Monday. Ri, the deputy director of the ruling Workers’ Party's Munitions Industry Department and a member of the party’s powerful Central Military Commission, was described as “largely responsible” for what leader Kim Jong Un labeled a “serious accident.”

The incident, which occurred last week at the Chongjin shipyard in the country’s north, resulted in the destroyer tipping over and sustaining significant hull damage. Kim reportedly condemned the mishap as a “criminal act” that deeply harmed the nation’s dignity and pride.

The vessel is currently undergoing repairs under an expert team’s supervision, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Ri’s arrest follows the detention of three other officials involved in the ship’s construction: the chief engineer, the project’s construction head, and an administrative manager at the Chongjin shipyard. These arrests suggest an aggressive response from Pyongyang over the incident.

Kim attributed the failure to “absolute carelessness, irresponsibility, and unscientific empiricism.” While the specific consequences the detained officials may face remain unclear, North Korea has previously punished perceived incompetence or disloyalty with severe penalties, including forced labor or execution.

Public acknowledgment of such domestic failures is rare in North Korea, though the regime has occasionally disclosed similar setbacks, such as failed satellite launches.

Experts suggest the swift and public reaction highlights the importance Kim places on expanding naval capabilities. Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea’s special forces, remarked that the publicity may signal growing confidence within the regime. “North Korea appears poised to assert its maritime ambitions more directly with this new class of warships,” he said.

Michael Madden, a North Korea specialist with the Stimson Center in Washington, interpreted the crackdown as a reflection of the high stakes involved. “There seems to have been significant internal pressure on the personnel and production units,” he noted. “It looks like they were trying to do too much too quickly.”

The failed launch comes just weeks after North Korea revealed another similar warship elsewhere in the country—touted by Kim as a breakthrough in naval modernization and expected to be deployed early next year.