Kim Jong-un celebrates completion of new township
Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrated the completion of a newly-built urban township near the birthplace of his late father, state media reported Tuesday.
Kim attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Township of Samjiyon County on Monday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
KCNA photos showed Kim and top aides cutting a red ribbon to open the “the ideal town for the people” near the birthplace of his father and late leader Kim Jong-il, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The construction has been one of Kim Jong-un’s pet projects.
The trip to the county at the foot of Mount Paekdu, considered the sacred highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, could suggest he may soon make a major policy announcement as he has visited the the area ahead of big political or diplomatic decisions in the past.
This week’s visit came as Pyongyang has demanded Washington come up with an acceptable proposal in their denuclearization negotiations before the end of this year, a deadline that the leader imposed in April.
Kim Jong-un said that he could take a “new way” if Washington fails to do so.
Nuclear talks have been stalled since the breakdown of the summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in February as they remained far apart over how to match Pyongyang’s denuclearization steps with Washington’s sanctions relief and other concessions.
The two sides held working-level talks in October but failed to narrow differences.