Northeastern Pyongyang city skyline
Kim Jong Un is reported to have ordered the evacuation of over 600,000 people from North Korea’s capital city, Pyongyang.
Experts note that the evacuation will most likely be conducted due to extremely strained tensions in relations with the US.
North Korea has an extensive system of shelters, but it’s not clear where the evacuated people are being sent.
Meanwhile, reports that China was cancelling flight service to Pyongyang appears to be incorrect, though some individual flights have been dropped because ticket sales to the North Korean capital are, understandably, low.
Earlier this week, thousands marched in Pyongyang.
As the crowd met under a huge portrait of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, the choreography was perfect. But the people also seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their role in this message to Washington and most of the world.
Your threats have not worked.
Tensions in North Korea rarely creep to less than Very High. As a result, many who live there have shrugged off the current set of dueling threats. But now those threats seem to have been taken seriously enough to force a quarter of the capitol out of their homes. This is the eve of a national holiday that is often marked by some demonstration of new military technology in North Korea. However, the evacuation order would certainly suggest that Day of the Sun celebrations will be, at least, muted. Both the weather, and the mood, in the city are cloudy and fearful.
Foreign reporters have been told to prepare for a “big and important event" on North Korea's biggest national celebration, called ‘Day of the Sun’.
Trump has stated that a sixth nuclear test by North Korea, or even the appearance that such a test is about to occur, could result in a preemptive attack by the United States.
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