A replica of South Korea’s official presidential residency, known as the Blue House or Cheongwadae, built in North Korea just south of Pyongyang has been circled as a target for what are expected to be fresh strike drills, according to satellite imagery.

First reported by Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday using medium-resolution Planet Labs satellite imagery, NK Pro has obtained a high-resolution image of the site taken on April 12 that reveals more details of what appear to be plans for new military exercises targeting the mock Blue House for bombing or a paratrooper landing.

The replica building was first built in April 2016, historical Planet Labs imagery shows, but was destroyed in a special operations simulation drill led by DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in December that year.

The surrounding land and mountains have been used for parachuting and bombing target practice for years, but the latest satellite images show freshly-outlined targets that have only appeared in recent weeks.

A target circled around the Blue House appeared between April 10-12, according to Planet Labs imagery.

Others in the surrounding area were drawn between March 24-29, as suggested by the faint lines and appearance of new piles of white chalk used to draw the targets.

By the time the high-resolution shot was taken on April 12, there did not appear to be any new craters in the targeted areas or damage to the mock Blue House that would indicate the drills had taken place.

Medium-resolution Planet Labs images taken of the site in the days since April 12 are inconclusive towards determining if the planned targeting drills took place this week.

But given Kim Jong Un’s past guidance of similar drills, such as the “Dropping and Target-striking Contest of KPA Special Operation Forces” in April 2017, the newly-drawn targets suggest Kim may be planning to lead another exercise in the coming days or weeks.

Kim has already attended at least seven military exercises since late February, as North Korean propaganda has focused heavily on military development in the new year.

Another missile test possibly complemented by simultaneous air force drills was reported to have taken place on Tuesday, but has not since been reported in state media.

The last time the replica of South Korea’s Blue House appeared to be part of military drills was just after the above-mentioned “target-striking contest” in 2017, with an area directly adjacent to the building circled likely as a paratrooper landing area (shown in the above image).

It did not appear until between April 15-21, 2017, however, indicating the drills may have taken place in routine fashion without being observed by Kim Jong Un, who had overseen different drills reported on April 13.

But Kim did lead the “combat drill” infiltration simulation of the Blue House carried out by the special operation battalion of Korean People’s Army (KPA) Unit 525 in December 2016.

State media at the time was much more antagonistic towards the then-Park Geun-hye administration in the South, openly naming the obvious Blue House replica and threatening to infiltrate and destroy the building and leadership in Seoul.

The new target drawn around the replica Blue House this week coincides with South Korea’s legislative elections held Wednesday, at which the ruling party of President Moon Jae-in — which has worked to improve ties with Pyongyang — won a landslide victory.

North Korea also celebrated the birthday of the late founding leader Kim Il Sung on Wednesday — where Kim Jong Un for the first time since taking power did not appear at commemorating events — and also typically conducts military exercises around this time of year.

Edited by Oliver Hotham