Kim Jong Un Rode His White Horse To Sacred Mount Paektu As Talks Deadline Nears

A man riding a white horse on a snow-covered mountain is normally not a newsworthy event unless the mountain is Mount Paektu in North Korea and the man is the country’s leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s state-run media reported that Kim rode that white horse to the sacred mountain for the second time in less than two months.

Observers of such things note that Kim takes these equestrian strolls to the highest peak in the Korean Peninsula before he makes a major decision. His October ride was supposedly inspired by his desire to create a “great operation” to overcome sanctions placed on North Korea by the U.S.

In his latest jaunt, he is dressed in a long winter coat accompanied by his wife and other officials all on horseback. The early December timing of the ride might indicate that Kim is planning a strategy if U.S President Donald Trump does not respond to his year-end “deadline” for Washington to try to salvage the ongoing, but stalled nuclear talks.

The talks reached an impasse recently over North Korea’s demand for relief from the sanctions in exchange for the intent for denuclearization. Trump is holding out for more verification that Kim will carry out the disarming of nuclear weapons and give up his nuclear arsenal before lifting any sanctions.

Ri Thae Song, North Korea’s vice minister of foreign affairs, called Trump's calls for talks a "foolish trick" to use as the 2020 presidential election nears. He said in a statement, “The DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] has done its utmost with maximum perseverance not to backtrack from the important steps it has taken on its own initiative. What is left to be done now is the U.S. option and it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get.”

North Korea sent a “Thanksgiving message” to Trump with a ballistic missile test and Kim said he would seek a "new path" if Washington continues its crippling sanctions.

Another reason Kim may want some movement on the stalled talks is that on Jan. 1, he is scheduled to give his New Year’s address to his country. The address is comparable to Trump’s State of the Union Address held later in January.

Neither side is likely to budge considering the egos of the two leaders unless there is a significant event that would spur a move from either side. The “new path” if Trump ignores the New Year’s Eve deadline is likely some “ruffling of the feathers” by Kim followed by more ballistic and nuclear tests. Or perhaps he was just thinking about taking an alternate trail on his next horseback ride to Mount Paektu.