Kim’s biggest annual speech -- a televised New Year’s address to the North Korean people -- will provide an opportunity hours after his self-imposed deadline passes to signal whether he intends to mend fences or escalate tensions. North Korea has expressed increasing frustration with the American side since Trump walked out of their last formal summit in February. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told Fox News that the US was closely watching events in North Korea. Twice before -- in 2005 and 2013 -- North Korea resumed provocations within months after scrapping self-imposed moratoriums. Kim has been trying to portray North Korea as a normal country and may take steps to increase the exposure of his reclusive state on the global stage.

Source: Mint December 31, 2019 00:45 UTC