Streets across the North Korean capital appeared mostly deserted during a visit by Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, suggesting authorities implemented extreme security measures during the summit despite the economic disruption they would cause.

Planet Labs high-resolution imagery shows few cars and buses on roads throughout a 100 square kilometer (38 square mile) area covering central Pyongyang on the morning of June 19.

The imagery also shows crowds of thousands of people filling the streets in pockets around the city, around two hours before they were seen waving to a convoy carrying Putin to a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square.

While Pyongyang roads are not typically covered with as many vehicles as cities in neighboring countries, the images show a stark difference between the level of activity on Wednesday and other days, including holidays like Kim Jong Il’s Feb. 16 birthday, more closely resembling a pandemic-related Jan. 2023 citywide lockdown.

Most notably, streets were empty in parts of the city where the convoy did not appear to travel, such as east Pyongyang across the Taedong River, indicating the measures went beyond the limited street closures expected during movements by the leader in other countries.

DPRK authorities could have taken even greater security precautions for Putin’s visit than similar past events, since eastern Pyongyang did not appear deserted in a Planet Labs high-resolution image taken on Sept. 18, 2018 when former South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited and his motorcade was on the road. However, there are no images for additional comparison taken during visits by the Cuban and Chinese leaders in Nov. 2018 and June 2019, respectively. 

Last week’s situation in Pyongyang indicates authorities distributed far-reaching orders to refrain from normal business activities and likely to participate in streetside welcoming groups for Putin, as imagery shows rows of buses parked near the crowds that filled the streets.

Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, told NK Pro the shutdown would “have a negative impact on economic activity” — slowing deliveries and disrupting logistics and ordinary commutes — but that resulting backlogs would likely be overcome within a matter of days.

“I think it’s an indication of just how much control the government has when it really wants to exert control over the capital,” he added.

The full details such as the duration of the shutdown are unclear as North Korean information controls prevent outside access to Pyongyang citizens.

It is possible it lasted all day Wednesday as Kim and Putin continued to move around the city and as thousands lined streets to see off the Russian leader’s convoy around midnight or later.

Some buses, trams and cars did appear sparsely on major roads in the morning satellite image, suggesting limited public transportation was made available, likely related to the day’s official events.

Such a partial lockdown could be done in order to free up security resources to focus solely on summit-related events, and to prevent people from causing trouble that could directly affect proceedings or draw resources elsewhere.

Edited by Bryan Betts