North Korea’s top military university is rushing to complete a long-delayed construction project ahead of expected celebrations for its 70th anniversary this Friday, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery.

The country’s leader Kim Jong Un reportedly graduated from Kim Il Sung Military University (KISMU) and may once again put on large-scale events for their platinum jubilee this week. He previously delivered a speech at the campus to celebrate its 60th anniversary a decade ago and attended a pop concert and other events for the occasion. 

The anniversary comes as Kim has focused considerable public attention on the country’s weapons development in the last couple months, announcing a new nuclear weapons posture and releasing a special combined report on guiding weeks of missile tests and military drills. 

Planet Labs satellite imagery shows that workers finally restarted construction on a new stadium at the east end of the KISMU campus earlier this month between Oct. 4 and 6 and nearly finished it by Oct. 26, two days before the anniversary. The entire campus, located in west Pyongyang’s Mangyongdae district, also appeared to be repaved between Oct. 23 and 26.

Construction and paving work took place on KISMU campus throughout October | Images: Planet Labs PBH, edited by NK Pro

The new indoor stadium construction has been in the works for over five years: A stadium was demolished in mid-2017 and work soon began on a new one of similar size in its place, but the site was once again cleared in mid-2018 and work restarted in early 2020. The concrete skeleton of the new stadium appeared mostly finished by Oct. 2020 before the project went dormant again. 

It appears that the anniversary spurred central authorities to finally allocate necessary resources to the project, but the accelerated work does not necessarily mean Kim Jong Un will show up for related events.

Signs of preparations to celebrate the school’s 70th anniversary first appeared earlier this year when the large open square in front of the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il statues underwent renovations between May and September.

A comparison of the old stadium (left, taken on April 17, 2017) and the new one built in its place starting in 2020 (right, taken on March 10, 2021). It remained in the state seen on the right until Oct. 2022. | Images: Google Earth, edited by NK Pro

The area around a mosaic mural of Kim Il Sung’s wife Kim Jong Suk — erected near the campus entrance in 2012 for the previous anniversary — changed appearance between Oct. 4 and 8 as well, suggesting it may have been taken down or replaced. State media publicly unveiled a mosaic mural of Kim Jong Un for the first time earlier this month, and it’s possible more have recently been installed around the country. 

The Kim Jong Il Military Postgraduate Institute, a separate campus attached to KISMU but located to the west, also appeared to be fully repaved in the second week of October, Planet Labs imagery shows. Their participation in possible events this week could shed light on questions over whether the school’s name was changed, as it has not appeared in state media since 2018.

An even newer military institute of unknown name and purpose built directly next to Kim Il Sung University in northeast Pyongyang has not seen similar activity in the last month, suggesting it may not be connected to KISMU and will not be part of any planned celebrations.

In 2012, state media reported that Kim Jong Un gave a speech and took a group photo with teachers and employees in front of the newly installed Kim statues at the school on Oct. 29, a day after the anniversary, before watching a Moranbong Band concert and a soccer match across town with his wife Ri Sol Ju.

Unusually high activity at Pyongyang International Airport in the last week suggested authorities were preparing some kind of large-scale event, but hundreds of buses that are typically seen outside key hotels and venues during such big events have yet to be spotted around town.

Renovation work and other unusual activity also appeared in the last month at a venue that hosted a major weapons expo one year ago, but state media has not reported on a similar event taking place again.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un also visited the Mangyongdae Revolutionary Academy located just down the street from KISMU twice this month, where he emphasized the importance of training orphaned children to become loyal soldiers. 

Edited by Arius Derr