North Korea releases macho footage of Kim Jong-un riding a galloping white horse up a sacred mountain to visit his ‘father’s birth place’ and sitting around a campfire with his wife
- Kim Jong-un made two trips up North Korea’s sacred mount Paektu last year to signify ‘major announcement’
- North Korea has now released an hour-long documentary charting his journey including riding a white horse
- He can be seen visiting the ‘birthplace’ of his father, as well as washing in the Sobaek River which flows nearby
- Kim was widely expected to restart nuclear missile testing in the New Year after deadline for US to rejoin stalled talks expired, but so far has not launched anything
North Korea has released an hour-long documentary charting Kim Jong-un’s two trips up sacred Mount Paektu last year as the so-called Supreme Leader mulled a change in direction for his country.
In the footage, Kim can be seen galloping up the mountain atop a white horse, inspecting Lake Chon at the summit, sitting around a campfire with his advisers and squatting in the Sobaek River with wife Ri Sol-ju.
The 35-year-old dictator also visited a log cabin which is recorded as the birthplace of his father Kim Jong-il in North Korean propaganda – though it is thought he was actually born in the USSR.
The documentary aired on North Korean state broadcaster KCNA on New Year’s Day as the world waited to see whether Kim would make his traditional New Year address, outlining his policies for the year ahead.
North Korea has released an hour-long documentary showing Kim Jong-un riding up Mount Paektu on a white horse last year, seemingly in place of a New Year address by the dictator
The 35-year-old dictator also visited a log cabin which is recorded as the birthplace of his father Kim Jong-il in North Korean propaganda – though it is thought he was actually born in the USSR
The footage showed Kim ascending the mountain, sitting around a campfire with wife Ri Sol-ju and his top lieutenants, and visiting the hut where father Kim Jong-il was born, according to North Korean propaganda
Kim and wife Ri are also shown squatting and washing their hands in the Sobaek River, which runs close to the hut where his father was said to have been born.
Kim’s trips up the mountain were said to signify a change of direction for North Korea, so airing it instead of the New Year address could be a sign that he is still considering how to respond after America walked away from nuclear negotiations
Kim was widely expected to restart nuclear missile testing over the festive period after a self-imposed year-end deadline for America to return to stalled nuclear talks expired.
Kim cult of personality
The Kim family are not just the Supreme Leaders of North Korea, but are venerated as living gods whose lives are part of the country’s history.
For example, the country’s Juche calendar is dated to begin with the ‘birth’ of Kim Il-sung, the nation’s founder, in 1912 – although according to the same mythology he was not born, but descended from heaven.
Mount Paektu was said to have been the location from which Kim waged guerrilla war against Imperial Japan in the 1930s, and the birthplace of his son and successor Kim Jong-il.
The tradition of myth-making continued with the second-generation Kim, who was said to have learned to walk at three weeks old, learned to talk at eight weeks, written 1,500 books and six operas in just three years while at university, and shot 11 holes in one the first time he ever picked up a golf club.
Meanwhile Kim Jong-un, Korea’s current Supreme Leader, was said to have mastered shooting a pistol aged three, to speak seven languages, and to have discovered new geographical features of North Korea while still in his teens.
North Korean state media had vowed a ‘Christmas present’ for the US, while a series of missile engine tests during December raised fears the Hermit Kingdom could launch a long-range missile or satellite.
But so far no launches have taken place and Kim has not given his address, leaving the world in suspense.
The release of the documentary could signal that Kim is still considering his response to the failed negotiations, as his original trip to Mount Paektu was said to be so he could consider a new direction for his country.
At the time of the original visits, the Korean Central News Agency released photos of Kim taking a horse up the mountain along with his wife Ri Sol-ju and other top lieutenants, all on white horses.
Analysts say that pictures of Kim at Mount Paektu – a dramatic location that is ubiquitous in North Korean imagery – represent assertions of leadership and legitimacy, given the historical background.
He tends to visit once or twice a year, trips that are sometimes seen as indicators of policy changes.
Kim went to the area in November 2013, ahead of his purge and execution of his once-powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek.
He climbed the mountain in December 2017, shortly before the diplomatic rapprochement that led to his Singapore summit with Donald Trump – the first between leaders of the North and the US.
Kim also climbed the mountain, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, on horseback in mid-October.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse as he visits battle sites at Mount Paektu in Ryanggang alongside his wife Ri Sol-ju, released by the KCNA on December 4
Kim Jong Un rides a horse alongside his wife Ri Sol-ju as he visits battle sites at Mount Paektu
The Korean Central News Agency released many photos showing Kim taking a horse ride to snow-covered Mount Paektu along with his wife and other top lieutenants, all on white horses
Mount Paektu and white horses are symbols associated with the Kim family’s dynastic rule. Kim has made previous visits there before making major decisions.
Kim said that ‘we should always live and work in the offensive spirit of Paektu,’ according to KCNA. ‘The imperialists and class enemies make a more frantic attempt to undermine the ideological, revolutionary and class positions of our party.’
On Monday, Kim visited Samjiyon county at the foot of Mount Paektu to attend a ceremony marking the completion of work that has transformed the town to ‘an epitome of modern civilization,’ KCNA said. It said the town has a museum on the Kim family, a ski slope, cultural centers, a school, a hospital and factories.
Samjiyon was one of main construction projects that Kim launched in an effort to improve his people’s livelihoods and strengthen his rule at home. The construction spree has also been seen as a demonstration of his power in the face of international sanctions designed to squeeze his economy and get him to give up his nuclear program.
Leader Kim visits battle sites at snow-covered Mount Paektu alongside other top lieutenants
Kim visits Mount Paektu area. North Korea says leader Kim has taken a second ride on a white horse to a sacred mountain in less than two months
Kim and other top lieutenants walk along bridge in the snowy Mount Paektu area in pictures heavy with symbolism
The latest mountain trip comes as a year-end deadline set by Kim for Washington to come up with new proposals to salvage nuclear diplomacy is approaching. The negotiations remain stalled for months, with North Korea trying to win major sanctions relief and outside security assurances in return for partial denuclearization steps.
The North’s Foreign Ministry warned Tuesday it’s entirely up to the United States to choose what ‘Christmas gift’ it gets from the North. North Korean officials have previously said whether North Korea lifts its moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests depends on what actions the U.S. takes.
Last week, North Korea test-fired projectiles from what it called a ‘super-large’ multiple rocket launcher that South Korea’s military said landed in the waters off the Norths’ east coast.
KCNA said Wednesday the ruling Workers’ Party will hold a central committee meeting in late December to discuss unspecified ‘crucial issues’ in line with ‘the changed situation at home and abroad.’ It’s unclear what specific agendas are at stake.
Many experts say the United States is unlikely to make new proposals that would satisfy North Korea.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Kim to follow through on what he described as a promise to denuclearize the North. Trump and Kim have met three times since North Korea entered nuclear negotiations last year.
‘My relationship with Kim Jong Un is really good, but that doesn’t mean he won’t abide by the agreements … he said he will denuclearize,’ Trump said during a visit to London. ‘Now, we have the most powerful military we ever had, and we are by far the most powerful country in the world and hopefully we don’t have to use it. But if we do, we will use it.’
Trump also revived a nickname he had previously given Kim when he traded crude insults and threats of destruction during a provocative run in North Korean nuclear and missile tests in 2017.
Kim ‘likes sending rockets up, doesn’t he?’ Trump said. ‘That’s why I call him Rocket Man.’
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