North Korean engineers appear to have followed through on Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's urgent demand to correct a listing naval destroyer that suffered a botched deployment last month.

Pictures show balloons surrounding the vessel, which is draped in covers to hide what has turned out to be an embarrassing failure for Kim Jong Un.

New satellite images show North Korea has deployed what appear to be balloons alongside its damaged 5,000-ton warship that has been laying on its side and partially submerged since a botched launch last week.