North Korea conducted rare blackout exercises and mass evacuation drills in secondary, tertiary cities and towns last week, multiple sources told NK News on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

The wartime preparations were not observed in Pyongyang, further sources said, and were restricted to locations outside of the capital – particularly on the east coast of the country.

The developments come during a time of sharpened tensions surrounding the peninsula and in anticipation of a pending intercontinental North Korean ballistic missile (ICBM) test, an event which some say could result in a kinetic military response from