Multiple fires were raging in the northeast region of North Korea recently, with a plume of smoke extending far out over the ocean, AFP reported Thursday.
The true-color image captured by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aqua satellite on Oct. 15 showed the northeast skies covered by great plumes of smoke extending over the East Sea, according to AFP.
"The smoke plumes blow uniformly eastward, some of the individual plumes coalescing into a single large plume over the sea," the caption said.
"Red outlines indicate hotspots associated with active fires, although not all the fires have visible hotspots," it said.
Official media in the communist state has made no mention of the apparently massive wildfires.
South Korean intelligence officials were unsure about the nature of the fires.
"We are still trying to analyze it," an official told Yonhap News Agency. "One possibility is forest fires. But we are not certain about what it is, what caused it and what it looks like at the moment."
