On December 7, footage showing smoke rising over Sinuiju, North Korea, across the Yalu River, was posted on X &#40;formerly Twitter&#41; from a square in Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, near the North Korea-China border / Capture from X

A fire broke out at the Workers' Party committee building in North Korea's North Pyongan Province, completely destroying the structure, as reported on Wednesday.

On December 7, footage emerged on X (formerly Twitter) showing a fire in Sinuiju, North Korea, across the Yalu River from Dandong, Liaoning Province, China. The video captured thick plumes of smoke rising from the North Korean side.

The person who posted the video questioned, What's happening in Sinuiju? Smoke is blanketing the entire city.

Satellite imagery experts believe the fire occurred at the Workers' Party committee building in North Pyongan Province. Their analysis of satellite images showed that the building, which was intact on November 22, had been demolished by December 14.

U.S. government officials are also monitoring the unusual activity at the North Pyongan committee building and are currently analyzing the situation. A State Department spokesperson noted that they've identified demolition work at the North Pyongan committee building, but it cannot confirm whether a fire was the cause.

The building of the North Pyongan Province Party Committee in North Korea. The building marked with a red circle has been confirmed to have been completely destroyed by fire / Capture from Google Earths

Satellite image captured on the 14th showing the North Korean North Pyongan Province Party Committee building. One building has been confirmed demolished / Provided by SIA

In North Korea, local party committees implement directives from the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, overseeing party rule in their respective regions with delegated authority from the central leadership.

North Pyongan Province, being a crucial trade hub on the North Korean-Chinese border, typically has its committee leader directly appointed from Pyongyang. The current leader, Kim Cheol-sam, previously headed the Party's Disciplinary Inspection Department and was appointed in December last year.

Some analysts cautiously suggest that the fire, which destroyed a heavily guarded party committee building, might have been an act of arson rather than an accident. They speculate it could be the work of someone with a grudge against the committee.

Kim Jong Un's recent visit to Sinuiju to inspect a nearly completed greenhouse farm underscores the central party's focus on projects in the area. Since attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the greenhouse farm in February, Kim has shown particular interest by inspecting the site five times in August, September, October, and November.

The limited reporting of the fire in China, despite its visibility from across the border, may be due to information control by Chinese authorities. Given the sensitive nature of the facility, it's speculated that North Korea might have requested China's cooperation in limiting the spread of information about the incident.

A fire broke out at the Workers' Party committee building in North Korea's North Pyongan P …

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