Analysts say Kimg Jong Un's horseback hike may signal a new policy direction for the nuclear-armed North |
New pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape to the summit of Mount Paektu, a sacred peak for North Koreans, have fuelled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement.
The images
released by the official KCNA news agency were accompanied by a gushing text,
that noted the "noble glitters" in Kim's eyes, and labelled his
snowy, horseback ride "a great event of weighty importance" for the
nation.
Accompanying
officials were left convinced that "there will be a great operation to
strike the world with wonder again and make a step forward in the Korean
revolution," the agency said.
Pictures of
Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape have
fuelled
speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement
|
Analysts
said the hike may signal a new policy direction for the nuclear-armed North.
"In
the past, Kim has climbed Mount Paektu ahead of major political
decisions," said Shin Beom-chul, an analyst at the Asan Institute of
Policy Studies.
Kim hiked
to the peak in December 2017 before launching diplomatic overtures that led to
his first ever summit with US President Donald Trump.
But
negotiations have been gridlocked since a second summit between Kim and Trump
collapsed in February and the North has been raising tensions through a series
of missile tests.
The
official KCNA news agency described Kim Jong Un's horseback mountain
ride as 'a
great event of weighty importance' for the nation
|
The sight
of North Korean leaders riding white horses across snow-capped peaks – and in
particular Mount Paektu - have been a dominant theme of past photos, posters
and portraits of Kim's father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
According
to B.R. Myers, a professor at Dongseo University in South Korea who specialises
in North Korean propaganda, the images present an imperial motif of a leader
protecting the cultural and ideological purity of the nation from corrupt,
outside forces.
Kim also
visited the site of a giant construction project in nearby Samjiyon county,
KCNA reported, and blamed US-led international sanctions for his country's
hardships.
Kim Jong Un
also visited the site of a giant construction project in Samjiyon
county, KCNA
reported
|
"The
situation of the country is difficult owing to the ceaseless sanctions and
pressure by the hostile forces and there are many hardships and trials facing
us," Kim was quoted as saying.
North Korea
is under multiple sets of UN sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes.
Pyongyang
and Washington restarted working-level talks this month in Sweden only for it
to quickly break down, with the North blaming the US for not giving up its
"old attitude".
North Korea
tested this month what it said was a submarine-launched ballistic missile that
marked a "new phase" in its capabilities -- the most provocative in a
series of weapons tests it carried out since 2018.
Moon's posted two pictures of the pooches, one of them showing five furry white
pups cuddled on Moon's lap with the sixth in the first lady's arms
|
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