Pyongyang says it successfully completed another test ahead of a US envoy's visit this weekend. Kim Jong Un has threatened a "Christmas gift" for the US if an agreement on sanctions isn't reached by the new year.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Ugarte
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North Korea announced it had successfully completed another "crucial test" at the Sohae long-range rocket launch site, as frustration grows over the lack of progress in negotiating sanctions relief with the US.
"Another crucial test was successfully conducted at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground from 22:41 to 22:48 on December 13," a spokesman for the North's National Academy of Defence Science said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency on Saturday.
US Special Envoy on North Korea Stephen Biegun is due to arrive for a three-day visit to Seoul in South Korea on Sunday.
A sinister 'Christmas gift'
Three previous summits with US President Donald Trump have failed to deliver sanctions relief for North Korea. The country's leader, Kim Jong Un, has threatened the US with a "Christmas gift" if concessions are not reached by the year's end. Experts have suggested this "gift" could be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The US and other countries have condemned several rocket launches carried out by the North. These are thought to be disguised long-range ballistic missile tests.
'Handshake for peace' – Trump crosses into North Korea
US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim have met once again, this time in the Demilitarized Zone. In a largely symbolic meeting, Trump and Kim hailed their personal close relationship amid stalled nuclear talks.
Image: Reuters/U.S. Network Pool
Third Kim-Trump meeting
It was the third meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in just over a year. The first Trump-Kim summit took place in Singapore in June last year. A meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, was held in February 2019. Both meetings failed to provide a clear roadmap for North Korea's denuclearization.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
Making history
Trump made history on June 30 with his latest encounter with Kim. He's the first sitting US president to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides South and North Korea. Trump briefly crossed into North Korea as he shook hands with Kim. He said he was "proud to step over the line."
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
Watching over the North
Prior to his meeting with Kim, Trump flew to the DMZ with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The US president met with South Korean and American troops as he watched over North Korea from a military post in the DMZ. US presidents in the past have visited American troops on the South Korean side but not set foot in the DMZ.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
'Great friendship'
From calling Kim Jong Un "little rocket man" to someone he has a "certain chemistry" with, Trump has come a long way in his dealing with North Korea. On June 30, he once again emphasized his personal ties with the North Korean dictator. Kim, too, hailed his "wonderful" relationship with Trump, saying the latest meeting would enable nuclear talks.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
'In no rush'
Washington and Pyongyang blame each other for the impasse over nuclear talks, but Trump is hopeful for a breakthrough. Although his previous two meetings with the North Korean leader didn't yield any result, Trump said he was "in no rush" to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Image: picture-alliance/Yonhapnews Agency
Regime survival
Experts have warned that North Korea may never agree to fully give up its nuclear ambitions, which they say Pyongyang views as vital for regime survival. In March, new satellite imagery suggested that North Korea started rebuilding a rocket launch site before Kim and Trump's Vietnam summit in Feruary. The site had been dismantled last year as part of Kim's denuclearization pledge.
Image: picture-alliance/Yonhap
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UN Security Council resolutions ban Pyongyang from firing ballistic missiles.
The US tested a medium-range ballistic missile of its own over the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.
Talks lead nowhere
In 2017, North Korea conducted a series of missile tests that demonstrated potential for its rockets to reach far into the US mainland. A war of words followed between the US president and the North Korean leader.
Currently, experts believe that Pyongyang's missiles still need improvements before they can be considered a viable threat to the US.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft on Wednesday called North Korea's missile tests "extremely counterproductive" and said they hindered peace negotiations.
North Korea called the comments a "hostile provocation" and said the US may have ruined its chance at reaching a nuclear agreement.
North Korea's socialist 'paradise' city Samjiyon — in pictures
Kim Jong Un has celebrated the completion of a signature project near the sacred mountain where his father is supposed to have been born. State media described Samjiyon as "an epitome of modern civilization."
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Samjiyon, revamped
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un (second from right) commemorated the completion of the revamped city of Samjiyon. Kim hailed the city as "an epitome of modern civilization."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/KCNA
Supposed birthplace of Kim Jong Il
The Samjiyon township lies near the Paektu Mountain about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from Yalu River that separates North Korea and China. The site holds a holy status in the country as the apparent birth place of Kim Jong Un's father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Resort city
Samjiyon, described as a "mountainous modern city under socialism," provides housing for 4,000 families, according to state news agency KCNA. The city also features a hospital, cultural facilities and a ski resort.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Big initiative
The opening of Samjiyon also featured a fireworks display and thunderous jubilation. The city is one of the largest economic initiatives Kim has undertaken as part of his drive for a "self-reliant economy" amid US sanctions.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
'Ordeals and difficulties'
State media said the project was completed despite "the worst trials" and "ordeals and difficulties," without elaborating. Construction was delayed due to shortages on construction materials and labor as a result of international sanctions imposed to curb the country's nuclear program.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Youth labor brigade
The delays in construction prompted Pyongyang to mobilize youth labor brigades. North Korean defectors and human rights activists likened the initiative to "slave labor" as the participants got no pay, poor food and were forced to work more than 12 hours a day for up to 10 years. The return for the labor was better chances to enter a university or admission to the powerful Workers' Party.
