Official photos from the opening ceremony, which saw a naval destroyer unceremoniously fall into the sea, appear to have been doctored before they were issued to state media
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has been left furious after being embarrassed by the disastrous launch of a new warship.
The 5,000-ton naval destroyer was supposed to be launched into the see at a grand opening ceremony, but was instead dumped in the water on its side, with one end still on the dock, in what the North Korean leader has since branded a “criminal act”.
And now official photos from the day appear to have been doctored before being issued to the state-run media. The originals show Navy Commander Admiral Kim Myong Sik in one and shipyard boss Hong Kil Ho in another as Kim came to inspect the ship.
The official photos from the event are now missing both men, sparking fears Kim has ordered their execution for their part in his humiliation.
Several officials at the northern Chongjin shipyard were arrested after the launch failure back in May after Kim blasted their “absolute carelessness”.
Satillite images show the stricken ship laying on its side in the harbour, with men using ropes, pulleys and even balloons to try and re-float the multi-million pound vessel.
The move has been likened to a move by Joseph Stalin as he also attempted to rewrite history. Despite the non-existence of Photoshop, the then Soviet dictator famously removed NKVD chief Nikolai Yezhov from a photo after they fell out and he was executed.
Veteran North Korea watcher Michael Madden, who is founder of NK Leadership Watch, told The Sun: “The airbrushing of a North Korean official from a state media image like this is a strong indication that the person in question has been executed.
“The intention is to make it as if the person never existed.”
Kim has a history of executing officials. In September 2024 he ordered the deaths of 30 people who he accused of failing to prevent flooding and landslides that killed 1,000 citizens.
Last month, two North Korean defectors called on UN to try Kim Jong-un for crimes against humanity.
Eunju Kim and Gyuri Kang both gave evidence to the United Nations general assembly with horrific stories of deaths and starvations inside the secretive state of North Korea.
Eunju Kim, who escaped starvation in North Korea in 1999, then was sent back from China and fled a second time, told the United Nations that the country’s leader must be held accountable for gross human rights violations.
She said her father died of starvation, and she told UN diplomats that she, her mother and sister were sold for the equivalent of less than $300 to a Chinese man.
Gyuri Kang, whose family faced persecution for her grandmother’s religious beliefs, fled the North during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She told the General Assembly that three of her friends were executed, two for watching South Korean TV dramas.