
These are the satellite images that show how bitter North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un destroyed a multi-million dollar model village because it reminded him of his executed uncle who masterminded the project.

The communist enclave's tyrannical leader first ordered the closure of the Pyongyang Folklore Park, which features miniature versions of the capital's buildings, in June this year.

Now structures inside the park - once proudly exhibited to the world - have been smashed up.

The centre piece of the park was a miniature replica of the Juche Tower, a monument representing self-independence topped with the torch of revolution.

The replica was surrounded by lush green grass that brightened up the model village and acted as the perfect photo opportunity for tourists. Photos show how the garden has now died out and turned murky brown.

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Pyongyang Folklore Park features miniature versions of the North Korean capital's buildings. It was proudly unveiled to the world in 2012 as a tourist attraction but satellite images (pictured) show how much of it has now been destroyed

North Koreans are pictured in front of a miniature replica of the Juche Tower at Pyongyang Folklore Park after it was unveiled in 2012

The 500-acre model village features scaled versions of propaganda monuments and buildings in Pyongyang and Mount Paektu (right), an active volcano on the border between North Korea and China

The West Sea barrage, a huge eight-kilometer-long system of dams located 15 km west of the city of Nampho is one of North Korea's proudest engineering accomplishments. A replica of the barrage was built inside the Folklore Park but satellite images show it has now been drained of water.

Folklore Park was completed in 2012, with Kim describing it as the brainchild of his deceased father Kim Jong-Il.

However, its construction was overseen by Jang Song-Thaek, once the second most powerful man in North Korea who was convicted of treason and executed in late 2013.

Jang was described as a 'traitor' to the nation and derided as 'despicable human scum... worse than a dog' in the announcement of his death by the official KCNA news agency.

In June South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted sources as saying that Kim ordered 'Mini Pyongyang' to be dismantled as it reminded him of Jang.

'Whenever Kim passed by Pyongyang Folk Village, he often complained it brought Jang back to his mind,' one source was quoted as saying.

A second source said the ruling communist party had withdrawn and shredded brochures promoting the village.

A replica of the West Sea barrage (left) built inside the Folklore Park has now been drained of water. Other buildings appear to have been smashed up (right)

There was a sparkling replica (pictured) of The Ryugyong Hotel inside the model village. The hotel in Pyongyang is an unfinished 105-story pyramid-shaped skyscraper

Kim Jong-Un is seen here with his executed uncle Jang Song-Thaek. In December 2013, Jang was abruptly accused of being a counter-revolutionary and was expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea

Jang Song Thaek, with his hands tied with a rope, is dragged into the court by uniformed personnel in December 2013 before he was convicted of treason and executed

The Folklore Park is pictured here when it was under construction. It contains replicas of palaces that existed at the time of the Koryo dynasty, which ruled from the 10th to the 14th centuries

Nick Bonner, Director of Koryo Tours, a China-based travel agency that specialises in tours to North Korea, said the country's tourism authority told the company the closure was temporary.

'We were told last week it's closed for renovation,' he told AFP at the time.

Tourist trips to the site are rare, he said, adding that visitors prefer to see the real Pyongyang rather than its model replica.

The 200-hectare (500-acre) model village features scaled versions of propaganda monuments and buildings in Pyongyang.

There is a replica of The Ryugyong Hotel, Mt. Paektu, Sosan handball gymnasium, the Arch of Triumph and Pyongyang ice-skating rink.

It also contains replicas of palaces that existed at the time of the Koryo dynasty, which ruled from the 10th to the 14th centuries.

According to estimates in South Korean media, the village cost millions of dollars to build.

Recent pictures from inside North Korea this week showed how, during a recent visit to an island bordering South Korea, Kim called for an impromptu firing drill.

The 'supreme leader' described his 'great joy' after watching North Korean soldiers fire at targets from Mahap islet, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.

The island is just 18 kilometres from South Korea's northernmost Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea.

The dictator travelled to the Islet to inspect a defence detachment but he seemingly couldn't resist the chance to test the readiness of his troops and effectiveness of his guns.

North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un reportedly decided to call a surprise firing drill on his recent visit to an island just 18 kilometres from South Korea's northernmost island

Kim Jong Un smilled as he travelled on a boat to inspect the defence detachment on Mahap Islet in the western sector of the front

The KCNA agency reported: 'Noting that the soldiers on forefront like those of the detachment should be stronger than anyone in their revolutionary faith, he underlined the need to train the soldiers of the detachment as indomitable fighters steadfast in the spirit of defending the socialist country by conducting the political and ideological education among them in a unique manner.'

North Korea on Thursday warned the incoming Donald Trump administration will have to acknowledge it as a nuclear state, as the South said the maverick billionaire had pledged to protect it.

The United States maintains it cannot accept North Korea as a nuclear power, despite it conducting five nuclear tests - including two in 2016 - and has pushed harsh international sanctions against the Pyongyang regime.

Soldiers helped Kim Jong Un walk over the pebbles on the beach at Mahap Islet

North Korea's supreme leader smiled for the cameras as he checked out a map with his soldiers

North Korea on Thursday warned the incoming Donald Trump administration will have to acknowledge it as a nuclear state

'If there is anything the Obama administration has done... it has put the security of the US mainland in the greatest danger,' said an editorial carried by North Korea's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

'It has burdened the new administration with the difficulty of facing the Juche nuclear state,' it said, referring to the North Korean ideology usually translated as 'self-reliance'.

The editorial, which did not mention Trump by name, follows growing calls for the United States to change tack on North Korea, with US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper last month labelling attempts to denuclearise the North a lost cause.

President Barack Obama has made talks with the North conditional on Pyongyang first making some tangible commitment towards denuclearisation, but Thursday's editorial called the goal an 'outdated illusion'.

Although Trump has not laid out a clear direction for his policy on North Korea, he has indicated that he would be open to negotiations with its leader Kim Jong-Un in the US to talk him out of his nuclear ambitions.

Soldiers appear to cry and yell as the dictator walks past them as he inspects the defence detachment

Eggs, fish and salad appear to be on the menu as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a sub-unit in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency

Trump caused consternation during his campaign when he threatened to withdraw the troops unless Seoul paid more for their upkeep, and suggested South Korea and Japan develop their own nuclear weapons to counter threats from Pyongyang.

But in a phone call with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Thursday, Trump vowed that US commitment on protecting its ally against the North 'will not waver'.

'We are going to be with you 100 percent,' Trump said, according to a statement from South Korea's Blue House.

'We will be steadfast and strong with respect to working with you to protect against the instability in North Korea,' Seoul quoted him as saying.

North Korea has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.

After Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, the Security Council adopted the toughest sanctions resolution to date, targeting North Korea's trade in minerals and tightening banking restrictions.

Council members are currently debating a fresh resolution after the North's fifth nuclear test in September.