North Korea is holding unprecedented blackout and mass evacuation drills amid heightened tensions with the United States and ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea.
Trump was supposed to visit Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) while in Asia next week, but the visit has been canceled. Senior administration official said that “there is not enough time in the schedule” and that visiting the DMZ has become “a little bit of a cliché.” Instead, the president will visit a joint U.S.-South Korean military base, CNN reports.
In the meantime, North Korea is holding drills.
“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,” Chun In-bum, a South Korean army retired lieutenant general, told NK News.
North Koreans held drills last week. The lights were turned off, whereas the citizens were prepared for the possibility to have to hide from enemy sight, Newsweek reports citing Korean media. Officials from U.S. and North Korea have been exchanging tough words during the last few months. That led to increased tensions and concerns of nuclear war.
“Any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response, effective and overwhelming. I cannot imagine a condition under which the United States will accept North Korea as a nuclear power,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said. The drills North Korea is holding are a sign that they are taking the threats seriously. Trump in September called North Korea leader Kim Jong-un “little rocket man” who “is on suicide mission for himself.” Trump added that they would have no choice but to destroy North Korea.
According to some CIA officials, North Korea might soon have the nuclear power it needs to attack the U.S.
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