Mountain man Kim Jong-un 'scales North's highest peak'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has scaled the country's highest mountain, state-run media said yesterday, arriving at the summit to tell troops that the hike provided mental energy more powerful than nuclear weapons.

A photo of the leader of the isolated state showed a smiling and wind-swept Kim standing on a snow-covered mountaintop, the sun rising behind him.

"Climbing Mount Paektu provides precious mental pabulum more powerful than any kind of nuclear weapon," the Rodong newspaper quoted Kim as saying.

The story is the latest run by state media on the feats of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled for more than six decades with an iron fist and pervasive personality cult. Just last week the regime insisted Kim could drive at age three, while his late father Kim Jong-il said he had scored an incredible 11 holes-in-one the first time he ever played golf.

The 2,750-metre peak of the volcanic mountain, lying on the border with China, is considered a sacred place in Korean folklore and plays a central role in the propaganda glorifying the Kim family.