North Korea builds replica of South’s presidential ‘Blue House’ for target practice

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An undated handout image from a South Korean satellite showing the actual presidential house (Blue House) in Seoul. Photo: EPA

Published: 7:05pm, 27 Apr 2016Updated: 7:05pm, 27 Apr 2016

North Korea is preparing to blow apart a replica of South Korea’s presidential Blue House on an artillery range outside Pyongyang, in an apparent propaganda exercise, the South’s military said on Wednesday.

An official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said the North’s military had been detected building the half-sized replica at the Daiwonri range near the capital earlier this month.

“The North is apparently preparing to showcase a mock attack on the Blue House using the replica as a target,” the official said.

A security official stands at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, before an official welcoming ceremony on April 25. South Korea said on Wednesday that North Korea has built a half-size mock-up of the South's presidential palace at a firing range in what looked like preparations for a live-fire drill. Photo: AP

Around 30 artillery pieces, hidden under coverings, have been brought to the range.

“The exercise is believed to be aimed at stirring up hostility against the South, summoning up loyalty (to leader Kim Jong-un) and fuelling security concerns in the South,” the official said.

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