North Korea Conducts Mass Evacuation Drills, Blackout Exercises
A rare blackout exercise and mass evacuation drill took place in North Korea last week according to NK News, citing “multiple sources.” The wartime preparations were not visible in Pyongyang, but were seen in “secondary, tertiary cities and towns” on the eastern coast of the country. NK News and “multiple sources” stressed these drills are “extremely rare.” Such “blackout and evacuation” drills are extremely rare in North Korea, multiple other sources with long experience working inside or on the country told NK News, making it difficult to gauge their purpose amid the current atmosphere.
Chun In-bum, a retired three star lieutenant general from the South Korean army, said “I have never heard of this type of training exercises before in North Korea, but am not surprised. They must realize how serious the situation is.” An NK News confidential “source” with-in North Korea added to the gravity of the situation: “I have never heard of evacuation exercises happening before.”
“There used to be air raid drills in 2003, but not since then,” the source said, who didn’t want to be identified due to the sensitivities of talking about military issues to the media. “A mass evacuation would be impossible not to notice.”
The North Korean war preparation exercise drill takes place as the U.S. Navy plans to stage an extremely rare, three-carrier exercise in the next few weeks off the Korean Peninsula, which could coincide with President Trump’s visit to South Korea, Japan, and China next month. The joint drills, the first in 10 years, are possible because of a rare confluence of carrier deployment schedules, according to the Pentagon.
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