Kim Jong-un Rides a Horse to Summit of Mt. Paekdu as Way of Sending Message to Trump Administration

Kim Jong-un is apparently sending a strategic message with his supposed horse trip to the summit of Mt. Paekdu:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rode a white horse to visit Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula considered the birthplace of his late father, slamming U.S. sanctions and calling for greater “self-reliance” efforts to frustrate them, state media reported Wednesday.

Kim has visited the mountain, considered one of the peninsula’s most sacred places, ahead of big political or diplomatic decisions and events, and the latest trip has spawned speculation about whether another big decision might be forthcoming.

The leader “climbed up Mount Paekdu, riding a white horse through the first snow,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, releasing a series of photos of him riding a horse running up the snow-covered mountain.

Kim also visited a special tourist zone under construction in Samjiyon County at the foot of the mountain, and lashed out at the United States for sanctions and pressure against the communist nation. 

“The situation of the country is difficult owing to the ceaseless sanctions and pressure by the hostile forces, and there are many hardships and trials facing us,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “The pain the U.S.-led anti-DPRK hostile forces inflicted upon the Korean people is no longer pain, but it turned into their anger.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I have to wonder if he really rode the horse to the summit or not? I think it is more likely he took a few staged shots at the bottom of the mountain and then had a helicopter take him to the summit for more staged shots.

Anyway the reason the photos were taken was to signal to the U.S. that they are running out of time to drop sanctions against the regime. Kim Jong-un has given the Trump administration until the end of this year to reach a denuclearization deal before another likely provocation cycle starts.