Kim again rides horse up mountain as nuke deadline nears

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has taken a second ride on a white horse to a sacred mountain in less than two months.

The Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday released photos showing Kim riding a white horse to snow-covered Mount Paektu along with his wife and other officials, also on white horses.

The mountain is the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, and Kim has previously went there before making major decisions.

The latest trip comes as a year-end deadline set by Kim for Washington to come up with new proposals to salvage nuclear diplomacy is approaching. He went to the mountain on a horseback in October.

KCNA says North Korea’s ruling party will hold a central committee meeting later this month to discuss unspecified “crucial issues.”