[ti:North Korean Leader Promises the World ‘Wonder’] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]North Korean state media recently showed pictures of leader Kim Jong Un [00:06.86]riding a white horse on the country's highest mountain. [00:12.08]The photographs were posted by the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA. [00:20.10]It suggested this means Kim is considering a major decision. [00:26.52]On the internet many people made jokes and memes about the pictures after KCNA released them. [00:36.63]The pictures were taken on snow-covered Mount Paektu, the highest mountain in the Koreas. [00:45.64]This is where North Korean officials claim Kim's father, the late Kim Jong Il, was born. [00:55.84]KCNA said Kim's ride after the first snow of the season is a "great event of weighty importance." [01:06.64]It noted he traveled with several high-level North Korean officials. [01:13.45]KCNA said, "Having witnessed the great moments of his thinking atop Mount Paektu, [01:22.64]all the officials accompanying him were convinced with overflowing emotion and joy [01:31.63]that there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again [01:38.84]and make a step forward in the Korean revolution." [01:45.00]The North Korean ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, [01:51.03]said the ride represented Kim's resolve to protect the country from outside pressure. [02:00.92]Since taking power in 2011, Kim has visited the mountain several times. [02:08.68]Often, the trips happen before important decisions, such as having his uncle executed in 2013. [02:19.72]The last time Kim visited Mount Paektu was in December 2017. [02:27.68]South Korea's Yonhap news agency noted that was just before Kim [02:33.67]turned toward diplomacy with the United States and South Korea. [02:40.08]Andray Abrahamian is a visiting scholar at George Mason University Korea. [02:48.04]He said appearances on Mount Paektu have an important national purpose. [02:55.68]He said they connect Kim to his ancestors who led the country before him. [03:03.12]Both appeared on horseback from time to time. [03:08.00]"It makes sense," Abrahamian said. [03:11.60]"Most North Koreans will never ride a horse and it seems regal, martial and dramatic." [03:21.36]Many Koreans in both the North and South consider Mount Paektu sacred. [03:29.16]What is less clear is what Kim's possible decision to "strike the world with wonder" means. [03:37.92]Some observers suggest it is about an upcoming rocket test. [03:44.20]Abrahamian said the language is "vague" or not very clear. [03:49.91]"That's the point," he added. [03:54.64]North Korea recently walked away from the first working-level nuclear talks [04:01.80]with the U.S between lower-level officials. [04:06.27]North Korea blamed the U.S. for not proposing good solutions. [04:13.72]North Korea has since threatened to restart intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and nuclear tests. [04:23.92]The North has held 11 missile tests since May. [04:29.30]It has not carried out a long distance missile or nuclear test since 2017. [04:39.72]In February, nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down after President Donald Trump [04:47.65]ended a meeting with Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, without an agreement. [04:55.00]Trump was unhappy with Kim's offer to take down the Yongbyon nuclear center [05:03.04]in exchange for cancelling major sanctions. [05:09.40]North Korea is under severe international economic sanctions [05:14.56]because of its nuclear weapons program and long-range missile tests. [05:21.52]The government also has faced criticism for its record of human rights abuses. [05:29.88]Many North Koreans face food shortages, international aid agencies say. [05:37.04]This is partly because of government failures, bad weather and the international economic restrictions. [05:47.08]U.S. and North Korean officials have not commented on what was offered [05:53.16]at the most recent nuclear talks in Stockholm, Sweden, earlier this month. [06:00.60]Harry Harris is the U.S. ambassador to South Korea. [06:04.98]He said North Korea asked the U.S. for "everything" before it offered to do anything. [06:13.72]He made the comments to South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper. [06:20.52]Harris also dismissed an end-of-the-year time limit for the nuclear talks to progress. [06:28.40]He said it was a time limit set by North Korea. [06:34.12]I'm Bryan Lynn. [06:36.29]And I'm Anne Ball. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM