Mock-ups of South Korean cities available in North's training camps, says captured North Korean soldier

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - North Korea has military training facilities that include mock-ups of facilities and buildings in South Korean cities, a lawmaker said Thursday after meeting with a North Korean soldier who was captured by Ukraine, Yonhap News reported Thursday.

South Korean ruling People Power Party lawmaker Yu Yong-weon made the comments in an interview with the news outlet as he released an audio clip of the soldier, identified as Ri.

Ri is one of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine in January during combat with Kyiv in Russia's Kursk region.

The soldier said the facility is “filled with buildings modeled after the terrain of Seoul's Jongno District, as well as Busan, Daegu, Jeonju, and Jeju Island."

The facility, which appears to be designed to simulate attacks on South Korea, is located in Koksan County in North Hwanghae Province according to Ri.

"The existence of such a facility specifically in Koksan was largely unknown," said Yu. "I've heard of similar sites modeled after cities like Busan, but this is the first time I've heard that even Jeju Island was replicated."

Yu noted that he heard that training sites exist in several locations and the camps “can be seen as training in preparation for contingencies.”