North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be focusing on consolidating power... amid growing speculation that he is to make another big decision following reports of him visiting symbolic sites.<br />Kim Ji-yeon reports.<br />North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday... that "the great leader rode a white horse through the first snow... up the snow-covered Paekdu-san Mountain."<br />The report went on to praise Kim Jong-un for leading the country tenaciously towards the battle line of superpowers.<br />The report also said Kim had visited construction sites of hospitals and a beverage factory in Samjiyon County... traditionally a move that aims at consolidating his leadership by showing him working to improve the people's living conditions.<br />The visits are also kindling anticipation as these two places were frequented by Kim ahead of grand political or diplomatic decisions.<br />So already there's growing speculation on whether another big decision might be coming in terms of denuclearization... or on the country's economic development.<br />The report also slammed sanctions placed on the regime... blaming hostile forces that praise the U.S. for the hardships the country faces... and called for greater "self-reliance" efforts to weather through the difficulty.<br />It said the pain inflicted upon the people is no longer pain, but anger.<br />Kim's previous visit to Paekdu-san Mountain was in December 2017... before the inter-Korean talks were held the following year.<br />He also visited the place in November of 2014... just before the end of the three-year mourning period for his late father... as well as in February of 2013 before the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek.<br />His last visit to Samjiyon was in April this year following the break-down of denuclearization talks held between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi.<br />The timing of his recent Samjiyon visit comes after a break-down in Pyeongyang-Washington working-level denuclearization talks held in Sweden earlier this month... suggesting the North may be trying to focus on consolidating power rather than rushing into another round of talks.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.<br />
