On December 4, 2019, the Korean Central News Agency released a group of photos of Kim Jong-un who recently visited and climbed to the top of Baitou Mountain (Changbai Mountain): The highest leader of North Korea rode a white horse and crossed a golden saddle across the snowy field of Baitou Mountain. The photo of
shows that his wife Li Xuezhu, the first vice chairman of the State Council and the permanent chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly Cui Longhai, the chief of staff of the People’s Army Park Zhengtian, and the commanders and commanders of the various services of the People’s Army were followed by his wife Li Xuezhu on horseback. Xuan Songyue, deputy minister in charge of propaganda work at the Central Committee of the Labor Party, was among them. Except for Li Xuezhu and Xuan Songyue, most of the entourages were dressed in military uniforms and starred.
This is the second time Kim Jong-un has climbed Mount Baitou this year, only 49 days from the last time. On October 16, Kim Jong-un and his younger sister, Kim Yo-jung, and "the leading cadres of the Party Central Committee" rode to the top. Earlier, in September 2018, Kim Jong-un accompanied South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife on a car to Mount Baitou and took a group photo in front of Tianchi.
is different from the past. In the last two trips to Baektu Mountain, Kim Jong-un rode a white horse, stepped on the snow, and walked along the marching path planned by his father Kim Jong-il, completely inheriting the route of his parents and grandparents. On Baektu Mountain, Kim Jong-un asked senior officials to go to "Baektusan University" to learn revolutionary traditions, and once again emphasized the spirit of self-reliance.
"White Horse General"
has boarded Mount Baitou the last two times. Kim Jong-un's mounts are all white horses, and the color of the horse has also been emphasized by North Korean state media. On October 16, the Korean Central News Agency issued a press release after Kim Jong-un climbed to the top of Baektu Mountain for the first time this year, stating that the supreme leader "ridden his white horse to the Baektu Mountain by himself against the first snow of Baektu Mountain."
and Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jung and other entourage who accompanied Kim Jong-un on the mountain in October, rode gray-spotted horses, but Kim Yo-jung was equipped with the same silver horse accessories as his brother. During the trip to Mount Baitou in December, Kim Jong-un's horse accessories were changed to gold. His wife, Li Xuezhu, rode a white horse without special accessories to follow, and the rest of the entourage rode mostly gray spotted horses.
Baitou Mountain, Baixue, and Baima all have special symbolic significance in North Korea.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Kim Jong-un's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, led a guerrilla army to fight against the Japanese in a secret camp in Mount Baektu. The snow on Mount Baektu left a deep impression on him. The newspaper "Rodong Sinmun" of the Workers Party of Korea published an article titled "An Anthem of an Indestructible Great Man", in which it mentioned a passage written by Kim Il-sung, who was 80 years old in 1992:
"There is so much snow, 50 It had fallen so much years ago, and the snow filled the whole country. I don’t know why, but recently, I couldn’t help the urge to go to Baitou Mountain. The snow scene of Baitou Mountain becomes more and more magnificent as you look at it. I really want to see the snowy day above my head. The majestic scenery of the peak."
After that, Kim Il Sung wrote the verse of "Jongil Peak on top of Baitou Mountain, Xiaobaishui River and blue streams".
According to North Korean folklore, Kim Il Sung rode a large white horse to fight during the Anti-Unionist era, and he was named "General White Horse".
Like his father Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, who was born in the secret camp of Baektu Mountain in 1942 and was hailed by the North Korean media as "born with the spirit of Baektu Mountain", also loves the snowy scenery of Baektu Mountain. In an article entitled "General Kim Jong Il and Baektu Mountain Live forever in the Hearts of the People", the "Rongdong Sinmun" mentioned that Kim Jong Il once pointed out to the students of Kim Il Sung University: "I am in Baektu Mountain. Growing up, dense forests, and wind and snow, this is the unique scenery of Mount Baektu." The report also stated that Kim Jong-il "loved the blizzards of Mount Baekdu so much all his life, and remembered Mount Baekdu in the depths of my soul."
Because of his love for Mount Baitou and Baixue, Kim Jong-il also loved riding white horses during his lifetime. In North Korea, there is a revolutionary song called "General Kim Jong Il Rides a White Horse." On February 14 this year, the Art Group of the Children's Palace of Wanjingtai Students performed this song in a comprehensive performance celebrating the Light Star Festival. Overseas media have also published a photo of Kim Jong-un riding a white horse with his father in his childhood. The horse accessories in the photo are very similar to those used by Kim Jong-un in this mountaineering.
"Take the snow road personally"
On October 16 and December 4, 2019, Kim Jong Un once again rode a white horse and greeted Baixue on Mount Baitou. KCNA also emphasized in the report that the route of Kim Jong-un riding up the mountain is also a "significant" Baektu Mountain marching route. The route was first opened by Kim Jong-il in 1956. Every year, North Korean officials and masses will learn to march along the route.
According to North Korean official media reports, this year, commanders of the Korean People’s Army, young students, and cadres and employees of Kim Il Sung University, the Ministry of Forestry, the Vocational Union, and the Agricultural and Labor League have organized such marches and visits.
However, Kim Jong-un also made some criticisms of the visit and study activities of the current revolutionary battle sites in North Korea. According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on December 4, Kim Jong-un pointed out during his visit to Baektu Mountain that he should "completely abandon formalism and watch fancy visits and study", and "resolutely oppose and overcome relevant revolutionary battle sites and revolutionary historical sites from a business perspective. The problems of visiting and studying, bargaining or negotiating conditions and other inconsequential sabotage phenomena, chronic treatment or the phenomenon of replacing revolutionary traditional education work with memoirs and newspapers."
In order to strengthen the "revolutionary traditional education work", Kim Jong-un asked the Labor Party to vigorously set off the Baektu Mountain visit and study activities. On October 15 this year, the railway linking Huisan City and Samchiyeon in the Baekdu Mountain area had just been completed. At that time, a report in the "Labor Shimbun" pointed out that the railway was "for visiting and learning the revolutionary battle sites and revolutionary historical sites in the Baekdu Mountain area." The team members successfully provided convenience."
Kim Jong-un especially emphasized that “revolutionary commanders” must complete the course of “Baektusan University” through visiting the Baektusan Revolutionary battle site. He pointed out that “to organize frequently in winter” and “to make it a arduous visit and learning process to personally experience the hardships and trials experienced by the anti-Japanese guerrillas.”
Kim Jong-un himself did it. According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency, during the December trip to Baitou Mountain, Kim Jong-un "personally walked through the snowy roads" and "ridden with his escorts across the land of Baitou Mountain on military horses."
The photos released by the "Labor Shimbun" show that when they came to the campsite of Qingfeng, Kim Jong-un, Li Xuezhu, Hyun Songyue, and the generals of the People's Army who were accompanying them were still squatting together and lighting a fire to keep warm. Historically, Kim Il-joong once sat here with his comrades to warm up, and his wife Kim Jong-sook also made a fire and cooked here.
“The sound of self-reliance hammers”
In addition to the Qingfeng camp, Kim Jong-un and his party also visited the Great Red Dan Revolutionary Battlefield, Maopu Camp, Limingshui Workers’ Quarter, Camp Michang’s birth camp, and Kim Jong Il . The photos released by the North Korean media showed that Kim Jong-un spoke to his entourage in front of monuments, murals and camps everywhere, and sometimes pointed to the monument to talk to his wife Li Xuezhu. KCNA reported that the top leader of North Korea said that he was "very moved" by the visit.
Kim Jong-un and his party also came to the Battle Victory Memorial Tower in the Musan area. 80 years ago, Kim Il-sung commanded the battle against the Japanese in the Musan area. This victory was later hailed as a "historical event of turning significance" by the "Rodong Sinmun".
On May 22 this year, the central report meeting to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of fighting in the Musan area was held at the memorial tower of fighting victory in the Musan area. In his speech, Cui Hui, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party who attended the event, emphasized "independently and creatively explore the destiny of the motherland and nation." Half a year later, Kim Jong-un, who came to this memorial tower, once again mentioned the "self-reliance" in the spirit of Mount Baitou.
According to KCNA reports, Kim Jong-un emphasized in his speech that “adhere to our party’s line of self-reliance and prosperity, and burst out self-reliance, unyielding spirit, and unanimous commitment to the building of a socialist prosperous motherland”.
On the day before ascending to Mount Baekdu, the top leader of North Korea attended the completion ceremony of the Sanjiyeon-eup area. According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency, in the construction of Sanjiyuan, Kim Jong-un personally guided more than 8,800 formation plans, "all details are embodied with the careful guidance of Comrade Kim Jong-un."
In addition, the builders of Miikebuchi chargeAfter six years of construction, the famous city at the foot of Mount Baitou has been "transformed into a model of a socialist mountain cultural city that condenses modern civilization." The construction of Sanchiyuan involves "newly building and rebuilding more than 4,000 two- and three-story and high-rise residential buildings, and more than 380 public and industrial buildings." From design and construction to building materials manufacturing, it demonstrates the tradition of self-reliance on Baitou Mountain.
will make major decisions after reaching the summit
“Kim Jong-un will make major decisions every time he climbs to the top of Baektou Mountain.” A number of mainstream media outlets in South Korea and the United States pointed out after Kim Jong-un’s summit. Before that, Kim Jong-un had climbed Mount Baitou before handling the Jang Sung-taek incident and announcing the improvement of relations with South Korea.
is different from the past, this time North Korean officials do not avoid the "big move" of the supreme leader. The Korean Central News Agency wrote in the report: "All the accompanying cadres witnessed Kim Jong-un’s great thinking at Baektou Lingyue at every moment. They were full of passion and joy. They firmly believed that the Korean revolution would achieve a leap-forward development. "
On December 3, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea decided to hold the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party in order to discuss and decide on major issues in accordance with the requirements of the development and changes of the Korean Revolution on the internal and external situations. In April last year, it was at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee that Kim Jong-un proposed a new strategic line of abandoning the Fengxili nuclear test site and concentrating all forces for socialist economic construction. Yonhap News Agency analyzed that "In response to US sanctions and pressure on North Korea, and maintaining system security, Kim Jong-un will propose development routes and policy directions for strengthening national defense forces and self-reliant economic construction at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee."
On the same day, Trump told the media during the NATO summit in London that he hoped that Kim Jong-un would denuclearize. He still had confidence in North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, and explained why he previously called Kim Jong-un a “rocket man”: "He likes to launch rockets, doesn't he?" Trump also said that the United States did not rule out the possibility of using force against North Korea when necessary. "If necessary, then we will use military power."
With these remarks, the Chief of Staff of the Korean People’s Army Park Jeong-cheon made a restrained remark on December 4, calling it "remarks unfavorable to North Korea", and "the Supreme Commander of the North Korean Armed Forces was also very unhappy to learn of this news." .
But Park Zhengtian also stated that "Fortunately, in such a dangerous state of military confrontation, the only guarantee to prevent physical conflicts between North Korea and the United States is the close relationship between the leaders of North Korea and the United States."
