Kim vows to fight US sanctions; visits sacred North Korean peak

Seoul, October 16

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to surmount US-led sanctions which, he says, have inflicted “many hardships and trials” on his country.

State media on Wednesday showed Kim riding a white horse to climb Mount Paektu.

The highest peak on the Korean Peninsula is considered sacred by North Koreans, and Kim often visited the mountain before making major decisions such as his 2018 entrance into diplomacy with Seoul and Washington.

The Korean Central News Agency says Kim also visited nearby construction sites and complained about sanctions imposed on his country because of its nuclear weapons programme.

He was quoted as saying “the pain the US-led anti-(North Korea) hostile forces inflicted upon the Korean people... turned into their anger”. The North Korea-US nuclear talks broke down earlier this month. AP