North Korea conducts mass evacuation drills throughout major cities 'in preparation for war'

North Korea is conducting mass evacuation drills throughout the country 'in preparation for war', it's emerged.

Several sources have revealed that the rare exercises are being carried out in "secondary and tertiary cities and towns" in the last week.

The wartime preparations are also said to have included rare "blackout exercises".

However they were not observed in capital Pyongyang - only outside - and were particularly thorough along the east of the country, the sources revealed on condition of anonymity.

The blackout exercises involved people working without access to any light - to avoid giving away locations to the enemy.

“I have never heard of this type of training exercises before in North Korea, but am not surprised,” LTG Chun In-bum, an ex-South Korean Army lieutenant general told NK News.

“They must realize how serious the situation is.”

Another said they'd “never heard of (such preparations) happening.”

An anonymous source said: “There used to be air raid drills in 2003, but not since then.

“A mass evacuation would be impossible not to notice.”

The rarity was backed up by a third source who insisted: “I have never heard of evacuation exercises happening before.”

 NK News reports that the developments come during a time of sharpened tensions between North Korea and the West.

Maniacal despot Kim Jong-un is feared to be planning yet another intercontinental North Korean ballistic missile (ICBM) test - despite widespread condemnation internationally.

US President Donald Trump is under increasing pressure at home to do something to nip his opposite's ambitions in the bud.