North Korea may postpone drills to attack South Korean presidential palace

Seoul intelligence sources said today that North Korean leaders have likely decided to postpone a drill to attack the South Korean presidential office.

The Blue House - the residence and workplace of the South Korean president. Photo: Lianhe Zaobao

"North Korea appears to have withdrawn troops and equipment from the firing range after the party congress," Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed source familiar with the matter as saying. "We are trying to determine whether North Korea intends to cancel the strike drill or just postpone it."

He added that since the replica of the Blue House (South Korea's presidential residence) has not been dismantled, it is possible that Pyongyang simply wants to delay the drills. In addition, the South Korean government is also trying to determine whether North Korea is changing tactics, shifting from provocations to focusing on improving the lives of its people.

Seoul had previously warned that Pyongyang might stage a simulated attack on a replica of the Blue House before the party congress in a show of force.

South Korean intelligence sources confirmed that North Korea has created a replica of the Blue House and placed it at the Daewon-ri training ground, outside the capital Pyongyang, and has deployed a large amount of equipment there. Accordingly, about 50 artillery pieces, a series of 122mm rocket launchers and howitzers were deployed about a kilometer away from the rehearsal site, ready to turn the building simulating the South Korean presidential office into ashes.

According to VNE