Kim Jong-un backs out of planned trip to Russia
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has cancelled his trip to visit Vladimir Putin in Russia next week, Moscow has confirmed.
Kim was meant to be attending celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, but has been forced to pull out because of "North Korean domestic affairs," says the Kremlin.
Putin's spokesperson said that information had been relayed via "diplomatic channels", with Pyongyang making no public statement on the matter. It is unclear whether the meeting between the two leaders has been rescheduled.
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The highly anticipated trip would have been Kim's first foreign visit since he assumed absolute power in 2011. His father, Kim Jong-il, made several visits to the country, "travelling by armoured train as he was scared of flying," reports The Guardian. Kim has failed to host any major international leaders in Pyonyang, instead choosing to meet with former American basketball star Dennis Rodman.
Russia and North Korea have, however, declared a bilateral "year of friendship", aimed at strengthening their economic and political ties. This "pariah alliance" comes at a time when both countries face international criticism and isolation from the West over their human rights records.
Putin is now left with a dwindling guest list for his country's Victory Day events, as several Western leaders declined his invitation, including Barack Obama and Japan's Prime Minster Shinzo Abe. The highest profile guests are likely to be China's Premier Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kim Jong-UN how did he scale North Korea's highest mountain?
20 April
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has climbed the country's highest mountain, according to state-run media – but not everyone is convinced.
The incredible feat comes barely six months after he was seen using a cane to walk after suffering an "uncomfortable physical condition". South Korean intelligence claimed the 31-year-old had undergone surgery to remove a cyst, while others suggested his ankles had fractured under his own weight after he had developed an obsession with Emmental cheese.
Nevertheless, Pyongyang media says the leader scaled the 2,750m Mount Paektu (more than double the height of Ben Nevis) alongside fighter pilots and top army officials on Saturday morning.
On arriving at the summit, he told troops that the hike provided mental sustenance "more powerful than any kind of nuclear weapon".
The Times notes that the personality cults of the Kim dynasty are heavily mythologised by the regime. Mount Paektu is considered a sacred place in Korean folklore, with claims the former leader that Kim Jong-Il was born on the mountain, despite many historians saying he was born in Russia.
The newspaper notes that Kim Jong-Un managed to tackle "the snow-clad peak in brogues, warmed only by his revolutionary fervour".
He posed at the snowy peak with windswept hair and his signature thin black over coat and shiny leather shoes.
"Kim Jong-Un doesn't look like he can climb stairs let alone a mountain #photoshop," wrote one sceptic on Twitter.
Another wondered if NBC news anchor Brian Williams, suspended for six months after exaggerating the tales about his time in Iraq, might have been putting his skills to use in Asia.
Others suggested that the leader was dropped in by helicopter, with The Chosunilbo noting that he recently tested a "homegrown" light aircraft as part of a series of demonstrations to prove he has no fear of flying.
One Tweeter suspected Kim Jong-Un was carried on a sedan chair by "peasants", while another concluded: "Kim Jong Un didn't climb the mountain, it simply knelt before him..."
