North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to surmount US-led sanctions on his country in state media reports alongside evocative propaganda images of him riding a white horse seen as foretelling significant decisions as his own deadline for U.S. movement on nuclear talks is nearing.
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The images in his country's official media on Wednesday showed Kim riding a white horse to climb a snow-covered Mount Paektu.
The location and the animal are both symbols associated with the Kim family's dynastic rule.
The highest point on the Korean Peninsula is sacred to North Koreans and Kim has visited it before making previous major decisions such as the 2013 execution of his powerful uncle and his 2018 entrance into diplomacy with Seoul and Washington.
The images and Kim's comments were released days after his country's first nuclear negotiations with the US in more than seven months fell apart.
South Korean media quickly speculated Kim may be considering a new strategy in his dealings with the US because he has previously demanded Washington come up with new proposals to salvage the stalemated diplomacy by the end of December.
North Korean documents say Kim's grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung had an anti-Japan guerilla base on Paektu's slopes during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The official biography of Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, says the second-generation leader was born on Paektu when a double rainbow filled the skies.
The white horse is also a propaganda symbol for the Kim family, going back to Kim Il-sung, who according to the official narrative rode a white horse while fighting Japanese colonial rulers.
KCNA said Kim also visited nearby construction sites in Samjiyon County and complained about US-led UN sanctions imposed on his country because of its nuclear and nuclear programs.
"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 was quoted as saying.
"But our people grew stronger through the trials and found their own way of development and learned how to always win in the face of trials.
"No matter what persistent efforts the enemy make, we can live well with our own efforts and pave the avenue to development and prosperity in our own way."
North Korea has been slapped with 11 rounds of sanctions since 2006.
Australian Associated Press
