Just to be clear, South, not North. I think the only Veloster mules they have in North Korea are actual mules named 'Veloster.' But this particular mule appears to be testing an actual, engine-behind-the-driver Veloster, presumably driving the rear wheels. In short, something that sounds like a hell of a lot of fun.
The idea of a mid-engine Veloster isn't new — Hyundai showed a concept one almost a year ago at the Busan Motor Show in South Korea. What we're looking at here — courtesy of Blood Type Racing's Facebook feed — appears to be something that's in the middle of actual road testing.
The mid-engine Veloster seems to have sacrificed it's extra rear side door in the name of ideal engine placement, and it's likely the whole back seat is gone as well. Hypothetically, there could still possibly be some sort of vestigial back seat like in a Lotus Evora, but my money is on the middie Veloster being a two-seater.
I've always liked the Veloster, and I think the Veloster platform is not a bad choice at all for something that could be a ne0-MR2. Of course, there's no official word on this yet, but maybe we'll get lucky and Hyundai will send an all new mid-engined car this way sometime soon.