Underground passages to aid Kim Jong Un’s
escape in the event of an emergency are being built in the mountainous Jagang
Province which lies upon North Korea’s border with China.
In a telephone conversation with the Daily
NK on December 17, an inside source from North Hamgyong Province said, “Deep in
the mountainous regions of Jagang Province, there are a number of tunnels
located hundreds of meters under the surface. The tunnels are for the exclusive
use of Kim Jong Un in the case of an emergency. It’s a sign that Kim is hedging
his bets against a potential war.”
An additional source in Yanggang Province
corroborated this news.
He added, “It is known that the tunnels are meant to
serve only Kim Jong Un, his family, and his top aides. During the Korean War,
the leadership was pushed all the way up to the Yalu River. The tunnels aim to
prevent that sort of dangerous situation from arising, even in the event of a
war.”
Aside from Escort Command personnel,
nobody knows the precise location of the tunnels, he said, explaining the tight security exercised during construction. When the workers were transported to the tunnel locations
to excavate, the windows were blacked out so they had no clue where they were
going. When they emerged to do their work, they were blindfolded until they got
to the construction site.
The team that undertook this special
construction was the 1st Brigade of the Korean People’s Army Military
Engineers. Kim Jong Un has such confidence and trust in this unit that they
might even be called the “Royal Brigade,” the source asserted, noting how “the treatment they receive is proportionate to this nickname.”
According to the source, Kim Jong Un is
worried that with the sophistication of modern warfare, it is possible that he
might be attacked at any time. For this reason, underground bunkers are
reportedly installed at all the locations at which he spends a significant
amount of time, including villas and offices.
There are also escape routes planned at
Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport and Nampo Harbor. In addition, there is
an underground command center in the capital as well.
“There is even some
talk that one of Kim Jong Un’s villas connects directly with Jagang Province
through underground tunnels. The reason for its existence is to prevent damage
in the event of a war, but, obviously, it would really only help him,” the source concluded.
