Guessing game over Kim’s 12 horse tracks at military bases

KIM JONG-UN has built 12 horse tracks at military bases in the past six months despite swathes of North Koreans enduring starvation.

The tracks and extensive stabling facilities have given rise to speculation that the Korean People’s Army may be training border guards to carry out patrols with mounted units.

However, some commentators have speculated that the construction could be a vanity project to indulge Kim’s love of riding. Like Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, Kim portrays himself as a rugged outdoorsman and consistently releases images of himself on horseback.

His chosen steed is typically a white horse, similar to the one depicted in a mural on the tomb outside Pyongyang of King Tangun, the founder and godking of the first Korean kingdom, Gojoseon, in 2333 BC.

Three further tracks are believed to be under construction but are yet to be confirmed by satellite analysis.

NK News reported that North Korea has spent more than $600,000 (£460,000) on importing thoroughbred and other horses from Russia since 2010, including 70 in the past three years, despite international sanctions imposed due to Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Kim was the chief architect behind the Mirim Riding Club, which was completed on the outskirts of Pyongyang in 2013, two years after he came to power.

The new facilities, however, are at bases operated by the North’s air force, its rocket command, navy and army divisions, with a number including indoor arenas.

Analysts have suggested that the developments will help the military to oversee a breeding programme that would give it the pick of the best specimens and enable the government to earn foreign currency through exporting horses.

Another theory is that the stables are designed to produce a steady supply of horses for ceremonial duties or even to appear in propaganda films.

Kim has a network of palaces across the country, owns a private aircraft and holidays aboard a yacht that is moored off one of his homes on the east coast.