North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, watched the country’s newest 5,000-ton destroyer capsize during its launch last week in an embarrassing military failure. Experts say a technique used to maneuver the ship into the water sideways was part of the problem.

上周，朝鲜领导人金正恩眼睁睁看着朝鲜最新的5000吨级驱逐舰在下水过程中倾覆，这是一次令人尴尬的军事失败。专家称，一种可以令船只侧滑下水的技术是导致事故的原因之一。

It was the first time analysts had observed North Korea using the sideways launch for warships and pointed to a lack of experience, as well as political pressure from Mr. Kim for quick results, for the mishap. Three shipyard officials, including the chief shipyard engineer, and a senior munitions official have been arrested, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, after Mr. Kim called the capsizing a criminal act.

这是分析人士第一次观察到朝鲜使用侧滑下水的方法，他们指出，朝鲜缺乏经验以及金正恩要求速成的政治压力是造成这次事故的原因。朝鲜官方的朝鲜中央通讯社报道称，在金正恩称翻船事件为犯罪行为后，包括造船厂总工程师在内的三名造船厂官员和一名负责弹药的高官已被逮捕。

Satellite imagery from three days before the accident showed the 470-foot-long vessel, the biggest class of warships Pyongyang has ever built, on top of a launch ramp. About 40 meters from the ship, a structure that appeared to be a viewing area and likely where Mr. Kim was stationed during the incident, was under construction.

事故发生前三天的卫星图像显示，这艘平壤有史以来建造的最大型军舰长约140米，位于一个下水斜坡的顶部。在距离该舰约40米处，有一个似乎是观察区的建筑正在施工，事故发生时金正恩很可能就在这里。

The destroyer was assembled in Chongjin, a port city on North Korea’s northeastern coast, which is known for producing smaller vessels, such as cargo ships and fishing boats. In a report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research institute in Washington, analysts said the shipyard “undoubtedly” lacked expertise in manufacturing and launching large warships.

这艘驱逐舰是在朝鲜东北沿海的港口城市清津组装的，清津以生产货船和渔船等小型船只闻名。在华盛顿研究机构战略与国际研究中心发布的一份报告中，分析人士表示，该造船厂“无疑”缺乏制造和发射大型军舰的专业知识。

The ill-fated warship was assessed by analysts to be the same size and configuration as the Choe Hyon guided missile destroyer, the North’s first destroyer and the most powerful surface ship the country has ever built. That vessel is the pride of Mr. Kim’s ambitious plan to modernize and expand his Soviet-era naval fleet, and was the centerpiece of a grand christening ceremony last month in Nampo, a west coast port near Pyongyang.

据分析人士估计，这艘命运多舛的军舰与朝鲜建造的第一艘驱逐舰——也是该国建造的最强大的水面舰艇——崔贤级导弹驱逐舰的大小和配置相同。

State media footage showed an elaborate event with confetti and fireworks that was attended by Mr. Kim and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae. A large viewing platform was set up near the Choe Hyun, which was already afloat in the water.

官方媒体的镜头显示，金正恩和女儿金主爱出席了一场精心策划的活动，现场撒满了彩纸和烟花。在已经漂浮在水面上的崔贤级导弹驱逐舰附近搭建了一个大型观景台。

That launch went smoothly, according to state media. Engineers used a technique common for large and heavy vessels. They appear to have built the Choe Hyun inside a roofed construction hall in Nampo, brought it out on a floating dry dock and then set it afloat by letting water into the dry dock, said Choi Il, a retired South Korean Navy captain.

据官方媒体报道，那次下水进展顺利。工程师们使用了一种大型和重型船只常用的技术。韩国退役海军上校崔日（音）说，他们似乎是在南浦的一个有屋顶的工棚里建造了崔贤级导弹驱逐舰，把它抬到一个浮动干船坞上，然后把水放进干船坞，让它漂浮起来。

But the shipyard in Chongjin didn’t have a dry dock large enough to build a Choe Hyun-class destroyer nor an incline to slide the ship stern first into the water. Engineers built the ship on the quay under a netting. When it was completed, they had to launch it sideways off the platform.

但是清津造船厂没有足以建造崔贤级导弹驱逐舰级别的驱逐舰的干船坞，也没有能让舰尾先滑入水中的斜面。工程师们在有施工网的码头上建造了这艘船。完工后，他们不得不将其侧向推下平台。

When properly executed, the vessel glides down the slipway lengthwise and briefly plunges into the water, like this 3,500-ton USS Cleveland warship did in Wisconsin in 2023.

如果操作得当，这艘船会沿着船台侧向滑行，瞬间落入水中，就像3500吨的美国海军克利夫兰号2023年在威斯康星州所做的那样。

Often a tugboat is stationed nearby to assist after the launch.

下水后，通常会有一艘拖船在附近协助。

But when engineers tried to push the North Korean destroyer into the water, it lost its balance, state media said. Satellite imagery taken two days after the accident showed the ship covered in blue tarp and lying on its right side. The bow was stuck on the ramp as the stern jutted into the harbor. The viewing platform had been removed.

但据官方媒体报道，当工程师试图将朝鲜驱逐舰推入水中时，船失去了平衡。事故发生两天后拍摄的卫星图像显示，这艘船被蓝色防水布覆盖，右侧在水中。船头卡在斜坡上，船尾滑入了港口。观景台已被拆除。

Launching big ships sideways requires delicate balancing work, said Mr. Choi, the retired South Korean Navy captain. The heavy weapons mounted on the destroyer could have made the task even more difficult, he added.

韩国退役海军上校崔日说，让大型船只侧向下水需要精细的平衡工作。他还说，驱逐舰上的重型武器可能会进一步增加难度。

A few days after the first Choe Hyun-class destroyer was launched last month, Mr. Kim proudly watched it test-fire various missiles. He has visited shipyards to exhort engineers to meet his timetable for naval expansion and appears to have planned to launch the second destroyer with similar fanfare and weapons tests.

崔贤级驱逐舰首舰上个月下水几天后，金正恩自豪地观看了它试射各种导弹。他参观了造船厂，敦促工程师按照他的时间表扩充海军，并似乎计划在第二艘下水时也进行类似大张旗鼓的庆祝和武器测试。

Engineers at Chongjin, who worked with less developed facilities than their peers in Nampo, must have felt enormous pressure after the successful launch in Nampo, South Korean analysts said. That might have led them to cut corners, they said.

韩国分析人士表示，与南浦的同行相比，清津的工程师在南浦下水成功后一定感到了巨大的压力。他们说，这可能导致他们去走一些捷径。

North Korea has said that it can restore the ship’s balance by pumping out the seawater. In another 10 days or so, it could repair the ship’s side damaged in the accident, according to state media.

朝鲜表示可以通过抽出海水来恢复这艘船的平衡。据中国官方媒体报道，再过10天左右，朝鲜就可以修复在事故中受损的那一侧船体。

But the damage looked worse than the country claimed, said Yang Uk, an expert on the North Korean military at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. The accident may be due not only to a defective sideways launching system but also to the ship’s structural imbalance, he said.

但首尔峨山政策研究所的朝鲜军事问题专家杨武（音）表示，损失看起来比朝鲜声称的要严重。他说，事故可能不仅是由于有缺陷的侧滑下水系统，而且是由于船舶的结构不平衡。

“The ship looks a bit twisted after the accident,” he said. “It doesn’t appear to have been built with the structural strength required for a warship.”

“事故发生后，船体看上去有些扭曲，”他说。“它的结构强度似乎不符合军舰的要求。”