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.

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.

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.

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.

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.