For a man who launches missiles successfully with precision on a weekly basis, North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un discovered this week that gravity is not by his side when a new 5,000-tonne destroyer “appeared to go off balance during a triumphant ceremony in Chongjin.

“The dignity and self-respect of our state has collapsed,” a seething Kim reportedly said, branding the mishap a “criminal act”, reported The Guardian.

According to US-based analysts, the ship was launched using a new “side launch” technique. And North Korea had never attempted this before.

State media has admitted that “some sections of the warship’s bottom [were] crushed.”

South Korea’s military has confirmed the ship is now lying sideways in the water.

Kim, who has test-fired everything from hypersonic missiles to submarine-launched nukes in recent months, was not amused.

He ordered the destroyer to be repaired before a key Workers’ Party meeting next month and promised that heads would roll, in a country where Kim controls everything, from the nuclear button to his own haircut.

The party line is clear: someone was “absolutely careless and irresponsible”.

The embarrassment is jarring given North Korea’s usual bravado. Weeks ago, Kim was seen beaming next to his daughter Ju Ae as the first of these mega-destroyers, the Choe Hyon, floated out successfully.

While the regime is no stranger to military theatrics, including hiding missile bases under what looked like a golf course; this latest event suggests, even dictators have bad days at the dockyard.