Todd Bishop
The end of the US-DPRK negotiations is approaching. North Korea’s Central News Agency reported on December 4 that Kim Jong-un, chairman of the North Korean State Council, and his wife, Li Xuezhu, and others rode white horses to Baidu Mountain and visited the revolutionary battlefield. Some analysts said that Kim Jong-un ’s ascension to Baekdusan could mean that Pyongyang would take a more confrontational stand against the international community.
Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Korean Workers’ Party Central Committee, First Deputy Chairman of the State Council, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, Park Jung-Chuan Army Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Korean People’s Army Accompany Kim Jong-un to visit the revolutionary battlefield.
The report quoted Kim Jong-un as saying that the purpose of visiting the revolutionary battlefields in the Baekdusan area was to inculcate Baekdusan’s “indomitable revolutionary spirit” in the face of “unprecedented blockade and suppression activities by the imperialists.”
Upgraded ” white horse with gold charms
Kim Jong-un usually ascended Baekdu Mountain during major developments in North Korea, such as firing missiles. When climbing to Baekdusan in October, outsiders speculated that the North Korean nuclear negotiation strategy had changed. This is the second time Kim Jong-un has climbed Baitou Mountain in two months. The photos of the Chaozhong News Agency show that the white horse Kim Jong-un rides is different from the past. The saddle and the harness are equipped with golden ornaments.
John Delury of Yonsei University in South Korea pointed out that although Kim Jong-un’s plan is still not clear, the move to Baekdusan means that the diplomatic window is rapidly closing. He believes that 2020 will be an important year, and not a year for diplomacy and summits, but a year to show national strength.
NK News analyst Rachel Minyoung Lee said that Kim Jong-un was accompanied by high-ranking military officers, not party officials, and other recent military announcements from official media, reflecting North Korea ’s opportunity to shift to a more militarized line.
