North Korean Naval Ship Mysteriously Sank

Unclear why it went down or how many died

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KCNA / AFP / Getty Images

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visits the cemetery of fallen fighters of the KPA Navy Unit 790 at an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photo released on Nov. 2, 2013.

A North Korean naval vessel sank last month, according to media reports in North and South Korea, but the details, including the number of causalities and the reason, remain a mystery.

In a rare report on a military mishap, the North’s official news agency said Saturday that an unspecified number of deaths occurred while a submarine chaser was performing “combat duties,” the Associated Press reports. State media also reported that leader Kim Jong Un visited a military cemetery and displayed images of the leader beside stone markers inscribed with “Oct. 13.”

In South Korea, a media report citing an unidentified military source said the vessel was built in the 1960s and may have sunk as a result of its age.

[AP]