North Korea’s newest warship was severely damaged during a launch ceremony Wednesday, with leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the accident, saying it brought shame to the nation’s prestige and vowing to punish those found responsible,

North Korea has opened a full-scale investigation into a serious mishap that occurred during the launch of a 5,000-tonne destroyer at the Chongjin Shipyard earlier this week, according to state media outlet Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim Jong Un's public condemnation of the bungled warship launch was a rare admission of failure from inside North Korea, but experts say it says a lot about its bigger plans.