North Korea Builds Replica of Seoul Palace, Uses It to Conduct Mock Raid
It was reported last year that North Korea was building a replica of the South's presidential palace called the Blue House, with the exact design and layout being the same as the original. Latest satellite imagery, however, revealed that the mockup now lies ruins, which is the result of a combat drill for a real raid of the actual palace in the future.
"Here we see a very well detailed reproduction," said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at John Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute, while showing a satellite image of the building after its completion. "We have the main facility here, the two auxiliary buildings and even the carport and the unique pattern of the building. So they paid close attention to detail."
North Korea's young dictator Kim Jong Un ordered the construction of the Blue House, South Korea's version of the White House. The purpose was revealed on Dec. 10 last year when heavily camouflaged commandos descended from helicopters using parachutes and ropes, and stormed the compound.
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It was a military exercise complete with artillery bombardments and firing of semi-automatic weapons. The troops practiced the capture of an enemy, presumably the South Korean leader, who needed to be put on trial. The drill was carried out under Kim's watchful eye through binoculars.
Photos released to the media showed Kim and his generals roaring with laughter at the sight of the building under siege. "Well done, the enemy troops have no space to hide themselves, far from taking any counteraction," the state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted him to be telling his special forces.
Fresh satellite photos provided by Airbus revealed that the replica of the building has been destroyed. South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, announced plans to move out of the Blue House, which is named as such because of its blue tile roof, in favor of a small presidential residence.
