Kim Jong Un visits school, stays away from provocations

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un recently visited the Red Flag Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, an elite school in Pyongyang, the second civilian-related visit the North Korean leader has made in a week.

Pyongyang's state-controlled KCTV aired footage from Kim's visit on Friday, which included clips of Kim being greeted with thunderous applause, South Korean network KBS reported.

"Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its founding," KCTV stated.

The announcement of Kim's visit with students is defying expectations of more provocations, after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said the regime is capable of testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

Many experts were also predicting North Korea would launch a missile or engage in a provocation on Tuesday, the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party.

Some analysts in South Korea say the deployment of U.S. supersonic bombers to the peninsula is making Kim think twice about provoking the United States.

"The message is that the United States could attack North Korea without South Korea's consent," said Cho Sung-ryul, a researcher at the Institute of National Security Strategy in Seoul. "[That is why] they have decided the situation is extremely dangerous."

North Korea could engage in provocations when Trump visits Japan, South Korea and China in November, according to analysts who spoke to KBS.