Three of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s custom megayachts were used or sent in for maintenance in the days after a major warship launch disaster last week, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, indicating Kim’s priority on his royal lifestyle despite the crisis.

Planet Labs imagery shows that his blue-topped 50-meter megayacht was visited by a smaller yacht at Tae Island off Wonsan on May 22, less than 24 hours after he reportedly attended the warship launch ceremony up the coast.

Maintenance work on his 55-meter megayacht also proceeded after the disaster, as imagery shows it was moved to replace his 60-meter megayacht at his Wonsan mansion beach on May 26. 

A smaller white yacht appeared docked at his mansion marina the same day, suggesting Kim may have been present, while the 60-meter vessel was already undergoing maintenance at his private repair dock across town on May 27.

Kim called the May 21 warship launch failure a “serious accident and criminal act” that “caused the nation’s dignity and pride to collapse in an instant.” 

He ordered an intense investigation into the cause and the ship’s “complete” restoration by late June, likely requiring significant state resources, but this has not stopped him from continuing to spend money on his personal fleet.

While the imagery alone does not prove Kim was present on the megayacht at Tae Island on May 22, it is likely that it was used by him or his close family members.

For one, the last time smaller vessels appeared around it at Tae Island, indicating it was actively in use, was on May 8 — the same day that state media confirmed he was in Wonsan conducting a missile test.

NK Pro analysis of historical Planet Labs imagery shows that even though one of his four megayachts is usually anchored at the island on standby year-round, it only appears with smaller vessels attached to it a handful of times each year.

The activity at his mansion beach — where megayachts have also anchored year-round in recent years — also suggests Kim’s personal servants were told to maintain readiness for his leisure time in the days after the warship disaster.

He could be staying in Wonsan this week to both keep tabs on the warship’s recovery, even though it is far up the coast in Chongjin, as well as efforts to prepare for finally opening the gigantic Wonsan-Kalma beach resort zone in June. The exact date of the opening ceremony, which Kim is expected to attend, is not yet known.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Kim’s Wonsan mansion has seemed to be in a celebratory mood after a major national disaster: A large inflatable slide appeared on his beach in Oct. 2020 following a speech the leader made on dire economic problems.

RECENT MEGAYACHT MAINTENANCE

Three of Kim Jong Un’s megayachts are custom barges covered with awnings to obscure their decks, with swimming pools and other luxury amenities believed to be underneath. A fourth, his largest at 80 meters long, features an Olympic-sized pool with twin twisting waterslides on its deck, as well as a multi-story lounge. 

All four usually undergo around a month of maintenance work at his private shipyard facilities in central Wonsan each spring, likely to prepare for frequent use by Kim and his family over the warmer months. 

They all lack engines and must be towed, further suggesting that their lengthy time under maintenance each year is related to on-board amenities instead of mechanical issues.

These are separate from his more standard engine-powered yachts. These include two measuring around 48 meters and one around 29 meters, all of which appear older; two British-made Princess brand yachts measuring around 29 and 25 meters long that he imported at the start of his rule; and a 20-meter yacht of unknown model.

So far this year, the 50-meter blue-covered megayacht appeared at the repair dock between April 26 and 29 before returning to Tae Island. This short period was likely to install or repair something specific on board, possibly related to Kim using it on May 8.

His 55-meter megayacht arrived at his private shipyard around April 4, where its red awning was replaced with a green one. It could have received significant amenity upgrades over the course of over seven weeks before appearing at Kim’s mansion beach on May 26.

The DPRK leader’s 60-meter megayacht was just starting its maintenance period at his private shipyard on May 27, according to Planet Labs imagery.

Imagery shows that in 2024, the 60-meter vessel underwent maintenance between March 12 and April 4, followed by the 50-meter vessel from April 12 to May 4, the 55-meter vessel from May 8 to 18 and the 80-meter pool yacht from May 28 to June 26.

Kim Jong Un appears to place significant importance on spending state resources to purchase new luxury cars, build new mansions and create comfortable environments for himself in all corners of the country. 

He even recently had new indoor facilities built just to receive his luxury car and to view military drills at a base in Pyongyang, after building new train stations to ease his arrival procedures at weapons factories in the northwest and two other mansion complexes up the east coast.

Edited by Bryan Betts