A raging wildfire that broke out on October 21st in North Korea’s Samjiyon County, Yangkang Province is said to have

burned down former leader Kim Jong Il’s home on Mount Baekdu near Milyong, the

alleged birthplace of the late leader, the Daily NK has learned.

“The fire in Samjiyon County has spread to

Baekam County putting the country in a state of emergency,” a source in Yangkang

Province told the Daily NK on Tuesday. “The Baekdu Milyong home and most of the

historic revolutionary landmarks have gone up in flames.”

“The 10th Corps [a military body charged

with maintain order and security] in Yangkang Province, the State Security

Department, and provincial units of the People’s Safety Ministry are all on

high alert,” the source elaborated. “To determine the cause of the fire, cadres

from the Central Party have also been dispatched.”

The Mt. Baekdu revolutionary remains

include the ‘Mangyongdae home,’ known as Kim Il Sung’s birthplace, as well as

other landmarks used as part of the North’s idolization of the Kim bloodline. Kim

Jong Il was actually born in Vyatskoye, near Khabarovsk in Russia, on February

16th, 1941, but the North has maintained it was in a log cabin in Milyong on

Mt. Baekdu. With this, the area was developed as a revolutionary landmark from

the 1970s.

When Kim Jong Eun came to power, the site

has been promoted as the origin of the “Baekdu bloodline.” One of the key

examples is back in February 2012, when officials from the Party, various administrative offices, and the military, held a rally at Baekdu Milyong to commemorate the 70th birthday of the late Kim

Jong Il and vowed their loyalty to the younger Kim.

North Korea claims the area of Mt. Baekdu

carries an abundance of traces from Kim Il Sung’s era of independence fighting

against Japanese colonialists in the 1930s. This is why it is proclaimed the “grand

revolutionary outdoors museum” and visited each year by Party cadres, military

officials, and residents, who go on state tours of the area.

“In Samjiyon County, there are camps for

visitors to stay at such as those for workers, children, and college students,

but if the fire reached this area, it’s likely they all burned down,” the

source explained. “It’s a state of emergency in Hyesan, Samjiyon,

Daehongdan, and others in Yangkang Province, so agencies and businesses have

been assigned to work areas to put out the fire.”

North Korea appears to be trying to wipe

out the fire by mobilizing residents in the area. “They started broadcasts from

the 20th in downtown Hyesan, and even on the Third Broadcast [fixed cable

system to which only North Korean residents are exposed], they’ve been saying that everyone actively must lend a hand to get the

fire under control,” the source said. It is not only in Hyesan City, but residents

in Bochon, Unheung, Baekam, and Shinpa Counties that have also been mobilized

to combat the wildfire.

“The autumn air is dry and so are the

leaves. On top of that the winds are strong, so they haven’t been able to

effectively fight the fire,” she went on. “Despite days having

passed since the fire broke out, they haven’t been able to tame the flames.”

“Already people are saying, whether the

fire was deliberate or an accident, anyone tied to it will probably be

executed,” she said, speculating, “If it’s arson, it will be a huge problem,

since it will be seen as treason. Even if that’s not the case, they will be

held accountable for not managing a key historic site of the country.”

“Some security officials have said that

this incident will not end with simply one or two people being held

responsible,” the source alleged. “Even provincial Party members have been staying

onsite, eating and sleeping there, to try to put out the fire.”

North Korean state media outlets have yet

to report on the fire, but attention is on how or if it will provide coverage

of the incident.

If the state does disclose the fire, it

will come with the political price tag of having to admit to a flaw in its

state security system. However, trying to cover it up will not be any easier. This

is because people will question why state tours to the “Mt. Baekdu

revolutionary site” that have continued since the 1970s have abruptly come to a

halt.