SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, this week took a second ride in less than two months on a white horse to the country’s sacred, snow-covered Mount Paektu. The images showing him “riding a steed through knee-high virgin snow” may look like typical propaganda. But analysts are holding their breath because of the timing of his visit. ​Kim traveled to ​Mount Paektu in 2013, just two weeks before he executed Jang Song-thaek, ​his uncle and the No. Weeks later, in his New Year’s Day speech, he started a flurry of diplomatic engagement​s​ ​that led to his summit meetings with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and President Trump.

Source: New York Times December 04, 2019 10:41 UTC