North Korea Conducts Mass Evacuation and Blackout Drills

A man watches a television news screen showing a map of the epicenter of an earthquake in North Korea, at a railway station in Seoul on Sept. 23, 2017. China's seismic service CENC on Sept. 23 detected a zero-depth, 3.4-magnitude earthquake in North Korea, calling it a "suspected explosion." (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

The North Korean regime has started to conduct mass evacuation and blackout drills.

The drills have not yet reached Pyongyang, according to information obtained by NK News. They have mainly been conducted in smaller cities, with a focus on the east coast.

The purpose of the drills has not been revealed by Korean state-run media. Experts think the communist regime is either fearing a war, or simply trying to create the perception that it is concerned over its populace.

Defense Secretary Gen. Jim Mattis spoke on the United States-South Korea alliance on Oct. 28, saying it is a deterrent to the North Korean nuclear threat. He stated that in light of the threats from dictator Kim Jong Un, the United States would not accept a nuclearized North Korea.

“North Korea has accelerated the threat that it poses to its neighbors and the world through its illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear weapons programs,” said Mattis at the conference, via Reuters.

Mattis made the comments while in Seoul. He is currently on a trip in the Asian region.

“I cannot imagine a condition under which the Unites States would accept North Korea as a nuclear power,“ he added.

Mattis prefers a diplomatic solution, but stressed that the United States is willing and capable of protecting itself and its allies.

“Make no mistake—any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated. And any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response that is both effective and overwhelming,” said Mattis.

After constant threatening rhetoric and scores of nuclear and ballistic missile tests, North Korea’s recent moves could indicate that they are beginning to feel the heat. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that U.S. military help in the region has been effective in deterring aggression from the North Korean regime. Moon will meet President Donald Trump in November, as part of Trump’s 12-day Asia trip, according to Reuters.

The president will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and will also make his first visit to Hawaii since taking office, The Hill reported.

The White House explained part of the purpose of the trip in a statement.

“The president’s engagements will strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat and ensure the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump wait for a meeting at the Palace Hotel during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 21, 2017, in New York City. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)