As North Korea prepares for its most monumental political event in years — the Eighth Party Congress, likely scheduled for early next month — people already appear to be gathering in Pyongyang to practice or prepare for related events. 

According to NK Pro analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery taken on Dec. 24, people filled Pyongyang’s central Kim Il Sung Square, surrounding a mysterious structure recently built there. State media did not report on the gathering, indicating it may have been a practice session for civilian participants in an upcoming Congress-related event.

On the same day, the