Stormy Daniels: Trump lawyer admits paying porn star - BBC News

14/2/2018 ( 1 hour ago )

Stormy Daniels: Trump lawyer admits paying porn star

The newspaper says Mr Cohen declined to answer why the "private transaction" was made

The long-term personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump has admitted privately paying an adult film star $130,000 (£95,000) in 2016, in a statement to the New York Times.

It follows US media reports that the actress known as Stormy Daniels was paid to sign an agreement stopping her discussing an alleged affair.

She first said she had a relationship with Mr Trump in a 2011 interview.

The lawyer has previously said Mr Trump "vehemently denies" it occurred.

"Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford [Stephanie Gregory Clifford, her real name], and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly," Michael D. Cohen said in a statement to The New York Times.

He said he told the Federal Election Commission the same after a watchdog group filed a complaint about the payment serving as an "in-kind" political contribution to Mr Trump's campaign.

"The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone," Mr Cohen said.

In a 2011 interview with InTouch magazine, the actress said she began a sexual relationship with Mr Trump in 2006, shortly after Melania Trump gave birth to his son Barron.

Porn actress Stormy Daniels alleged in 2011 that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006

The reports re-emerged in January when the Wall Street Journal reported that she was paid to sign a non-disclosure agreement in the run up to the 2016 election.

Ms Clifford was believed to be in discussion with US media about an appearance to discuss Mr Trump at the time, the report said.

The New York Times newspaper said Mr Cohen declined to answer questions on why the payment was made, and if Mr Trump knew about it.

A Stormy situation: Donald Trump's porn-star (non)-scandal

In January, Stormy Daniels released a statement denying having an affair with Mr Trump.

She has since made public and television appearances where she has refused to directly answer questions about it.

China and Russia are catching up with military power of US and West, say leading defence experts - Independent

14/2/2018

China and Russia are catching up with military power of US and West, say leading defence experts

'The West no longer has a monopoly on world-leading defence innovation'

Kim Sengupta Defence Editor

Soldiers participate in armoured-vehicle training exercises on 10 February, 2018 in Honghe, Yunnan Province Getty Images

China and Russia are challenging the military supremacy of America and its allies and the West can no longer rely on the strategic advantage it has enjoyed until now, a leading think tank states in its annual report.

The Military Balance 2018 report, produced by the IISS (International Institute of Strategic Studies) warns that while war between the Great Powers is not inevitable, Washington, Moscow and Beijing are now systematically preparing for the possibility of conflict.

The report details the drive by the Chinese leadership in acquiring and expanding its formidable arsenal.

Japan puts missiles on island idyll in preparation for war with China

In the air, this includes the Chengdu J-20 combat aircraft entering service in 2020, which means the US losing its monopoly on stealth aircraft. Meanwhile its PL-15 extended range air-to-air missile system will be equipped with electronically-scanned radars - technology few other nations now possess.

There have been similar advances in naval capabilities.

China’s programme over the last 15 years means it has built more corvettes, destroyers, frigates and submarines than Japan, India and South Korea combined. The total tonnage of its new warships and auxiliaries launched in the last four years alone, the report points out, is significantly greater than that of the entire French Navy. The launch of its first Type–055 cruiser illustrates its blue water capabilities enable it to deploy further including off the coast of Europe. Its base in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, lays the ground for missions at vast distances.

China reassigns 60,000 troops to plant trees in bid to fight pollution

UK to send warship to South China Sea in challenge to Beijing

Mercedes-Benz apologises to China for quoting Dalai Lama on Instagram

China blasts US nuclear policy over 'Cold War mentality'

The pace of militarisation is slower in the case of Russia partly due to funding and industrial issues. It is, however, benefiting from experience of real life combat in Syria and Ukraine and has shown extensive capabilities in the field of hybrid warfare including cyber attacks.

Dr John Chipman, IISS Director-General and Chief Executive said: “Some governments in the West will look to ‘leap-ahead’ technologies to augment and even deliver military power, but these are no guarantee of success.

“China’s emerging weapons developments and broader defence-technological progress further its transition from ‘catching up’ with the West to becoming a global defence innovator. The West no longer has a monopoly on world-leading defence innovation and production, or the funds to enable these. Indeed, China might be the one to leap ahead. But to use its capabilities to best effect, China will need to make similar improvements in training, doctrine and tactics.”

The key pitfalls on the road to Brexit- Guardian

The key pitfalls on the road to Brexit

The road to Brexit was never going to be easy. Here’s a guide to the trickiest obstacles...

Toby Helm

Wed 14 Feb 2018 22.05 AEDT Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 22.12 AEDT

The committee stage of the European Union withdrawal bill begins in the House of Lords later this month. Ten days have been allocated for what will be fiery debates. Cross-party groups of peers will vote on a range of amendments that could torpedo the prime minister’s plans for Brexit.

Some pro-EU Tories will back amendments saying the UK should stay in the single market and customs union for good. Other amendments would delete the commitment to a firm date for Brexit (currently set as 29 March 2019).

There will also be calls for a second referendum on the final deal. The most likely trouble will be over the customs union. If the Lords pass any of these amendments, the Commons, where there is also a majority for a soft Brexit, may follow suit and May’s authority will be seriously damaged.

A defeat for May, which sees parliament commit to permanent membership of the customs union, is much more likely if Labour officially changes tack and backs the policy. Currently, Labour supports staying in both the customs union and single market during the transition period only.

Much of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, including shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, want him to back permanent customs union membership, not least to solve border issues in Northern Ireland. Corbyn has called a special shadow cabinet “away day” for later this month to decide. If he shifts on the customs union, Labour MPs and pro-EU Tories will join the SNP and Lib Dems in votes in the Commons in April or May. Defeat on the customs union will show May does not have parliament’s backing and cannot deliver hard Brexit.

A crunch summit of the 28 EU leaders is supposed to sign off on a final arrangement on a two-year transition, or implementation period, after Britain leaves in 2019. The other 27 EU leaders are also due to agree a mandate for negotiating the post-transition relationship between the UK and the EU.

But there is a growing belief in Brussels and London that neither may be achieved, delaying the entire Brexit timetable. May wants a transition in which trade between the UK and EU carries on as it does now, until 2021, with the UK continuing to accept EU rules and paying for market access.

Rightwing Tory MPs, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, below, are throwing in late objections, wanting assurances that there will be no new Brussels laws in the transition period that could damage the UK. Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, is resisting that idea.

Business leaders have set the end of March as the deadline by which the government must be clear on the transition arrangements, warning that if it fails to deliver clarity, companies will activate contingency plans.

The British Chambers of Commerce is increasingly vocal, as members despair over cabinet divisions. In a letter to May last week, director general Adam Marshall said: “Directly affected companies are poised to activate contingency plans. Many others, worryingly, have simply disengaged.”

Japan’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Koji Tsuruoka, said after a meeting in Downing Street last week: “If there is no profitability of continuing operations in the UK … then no private company can continue operations.”

Toyota, Nissan, Honda? If they left, the impact on jobs would be devastating.

The Conservatives are expected to be routed in London, and other big Remain-supporting cities, at local elections in May. Voting will be taking place against a background of the key votes in both houses of parliament on Brexit bills.

Already, Tory MPs are warning that unless the PM has asserted greater authority by 3 May and shown she is winning, then the “men in grey suits” could be dispatched to No 10 to call for her to go, or enough Tory MPs will call for a confidence vote, if and when bad results come in.

Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are already said to be thinking about what to do if there is a May meltdown. A former Tory cabinet minister said recently that he feared a wipeout in big cities, adding: “MPs think in two ways: what can I do to save my seat, and what’s in it for me? People will begin to manoeuvre over the leadership. There will be a degree of panic.”

Which deal?

Summer

By the summer, negotiations must be well underway on the long-term relationship between the EU and the UK. Relationships on items ranging from agriculture to the environment, security and drugs licensing, will have to be recast. The UK must make up its mind what it wants.

A relationship like Canada’s, which excludes services? Or like Norway’s, effectively still in the single market but outside the EU? There is no clarity beyond May’s call for a “deep and special partnership”. She wants “frictionless trade” with the EU but has no clear plan on how to achieve that.

European officials are tearing their hair out. The Irish government will want to see firm proposals on how the UK intends to avoid a return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, if it ends up outside the customs union. If Dublin is not satisfied, it could scupper any deal.

Brexit: the impossible job? A guide to the roadblocks facing the PM

European leaders have to agree the shape of any deal and aim to do so by an October summit. To get agreement, they must agree by what is called a “stong majority”. Unanimity is not required - but, by that stage, consensus should be emerging. The deal also has to go to the European Parliament where it has to be approved by a simple majority of MEPs. If any large bloc of member states is unhappy – for example, if MEPs from central and eastern European states and other countries fear the implications of the deal for movement of workers – they could block it.

Under the Article 50 agreement, the deal does not need to be ratified by all individual member states, as a new Treaty does.

Watch out for the Irish, though, as if the package is not to Dublin’s liking, it could persuade other countries to stand in its way in the European Council.

MPs decide

By December

MPs will be able to vote on any final deal once it has been signed off by EU heads of government. But some EU leaders and UK ministers now think that all that will be achieved will be “heads of agreement” that fail to define the future relationship in detail.

This would mean the talking has to go on into the transition, when the focus should be on new trade deals. If a skeleton deal is put to the vote at Westminster, it may well not meet with the approval of either house. If a vote were lost on the deal – rejected as either damaging or too limited, or not good for jobs – May would be gone.

What then? Would the EU agree to delay Brexit day? The Institute of Government says: “It is unlikely a parliamentary No vote could stop Brexit altogether. For this to happen, the UK would need to attempt to revoke its article 50 notification.” All bets would be off.

Pentagon earmarks $1bn to buy Trump six new helicopters - Times of London

Pentagon earmarks $1bn to buy Trump six new helicopters

Michael Evans

February 14 2018, 12:01am,

The Times

Armed Forces

Donald Trump

Sea Kings have carried every US president since Dwight D Eisenhower

The Pentagon has set aside almost $1 billion next year for six presidential helicopters. They will replace the Marine One Sea Kings that have carried every American president since Dwight D Eisenhower.

After more than a decade of botched planning to replace the most famous helicopter in Washington, President Trump will be the first White House incumbent to fly in the new $170 million aircraft.

The six Sikorsky VH-92As are probably the world’s most expensive helicopter and will cost a total of about $1.2 billion. Under the 2019 defence budget request, $900 million dollars would be allocated to complete the programme next year. The first helicopter will go into operation in 2020.

The new Marine One will be fitted with all the comforts necessary for the president and his staff. It will be armoured to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion and have systems to fend off guided missiles. As with the present Marine One, the president will have access to secure communications to hold conference calls with his cabinet and military chiefs.

President Obama once said that he thought his Marine One was “just fine” and cast doubt on the need for a replacement. However, the existing fleet of Sea Kings was built in about 1975. Their predecessors carried President Eisenhower, who was the first White House incumbent to get his own fleet. The US military stopped flying those Sea Kings in the 1990s.

Where can you find palm trees, pink sand and turquoise seas?

sponsored

Sikorsky, an arm of Lockheed Martin, won the contract for the new aircraft in 2014. The replacement programme started in 2003 but the first option was cancelled after a huge overspend of several billion dollars.

The $900 million allocated to the programme in next year’s budget, which has yet to be approved by Congress, appears in a long list of new military hardware. Pentagon spending is set to rise by 10 per cent to $686 billion.

The Trump administration views Russia and China as its main threat and so the 2019 defence budget request has focused on acquiring more warships, submarines, aircraft, tanks and missile defence.

The big ticket items include $10.7 billion for 77 more F-35 joint strike fighters, $2 billion for 24 more F/A-18 jets, $6 billion for three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, $1.3 billion for 60 Apache attack helicopters and $7.4 billion for two Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines.

Mr Trump has previously promised a boost for the military. Pentagon officials said that the expenditure represented 3.1 per cent of GDP, compared with 6 per cent spent under President Reagan in the 1980s.

One official added, however, that a “spectacular” rise in spending was planned for 2020, the last year of Mr Trump’s first term in office.

Dow Jones Jumps More Than 400 Points, Still Recovering After a Big Correction - TIME Business

Dow Jones Jumps More Than 400 Points, Still Recovering After a Big Correction Posted: 12 Feb 2018 03:29 PM PST (NEW YORK) — Stocks powered higher Monday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average up 410 points, as the market clawed back more of its massive losses from the previous two weeks. Apple jumped 4 percent and led a rally in technology companies, while industrial companies, banks, and consumer-focused companies like retailers also rose. Netflix and Amazon surged again as stocks that led the market higher in 2017 recovered more of the ground they lost recently. Energy companies got some relief as oil prices turned higher. All of that helped stocks build on the market’s gains from late Friday. Some market watchers say the recent bout of turbulence may not be over. Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for the Leuthold Group, said he thinks stocks and bonds will fall further as investors consider the likelihood that interest rates will keep rising and inflation will increase. Inflation and higher wages can cut into company profits, and higher interest rates slow down economic growth. “The catalyst behind this bull market up until maybe the last year or so has just been the ability of this economy to grow, even if it’s very sluggishly (…) without creating any negative consequences for the financial markets,” he said. Paulsen said the consumer prices report Wednesday or the February employment report due next month could both have major effects on the market. The Standard & Poor’s 500, the benchmark for many index funds, gained 36.45 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,656. The Dow climbed 410.37 points, or 1.7 percent, to 24,601.27. It had risen as much as 574 earlier, led by big gains for Boeing and Apple. The Nasdaq composite advanced 107.47 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,981.96. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 13.15 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,490.98. It took just nine days for stocks to plunge 10 percent from their latest peak, which was reached on January 26. A drop of that size is known on Wall Street as a market “correction.” According to LPL Financial, it was the swiftest move from a record high to a correction in the history of the S&P 500. The index rose 1.5 percent Friday but still wound up with its worst weekly loss in more than two years. Despite the two-day recovery, the S&P 500 is down 7.5 percent from its record high, and investors expect far more volatility in the stock market than they did two weeks ago. That comes after a remarkably calm year for stocks: there were only eight days in 2017 where the S&P 500 rose or fell at least 1 percent. But it’s happened six times in the last seven trading days, and eight times since the market’s peak Jan. 26. That includes several drops that were far larger than anything the market endured last year. Other gainers in the technology industry included Cisco Systems, which rose $1.07, or 2.7 percent, to $40.60. Chipmakers Broadcom and Qualcomm each climbed after CNBC reported that the companies will meet this week to discuss Broadcom’s $121 billion offer to buy Qualcomm. Retailers, apparel makers and other companies that focus on consumers made some of the largest gains, a sign that investors expect shoppers to keep spending and the economy to keep growing. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 9 cents to $59.29 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 20 cents to $62.59 a barrel in London. Oil prices have dropped since reaching long-time highs in late January, when U.S. crude peaked at $66 a barrel. The S&P 500 energy index is down 12.7 percent over the last month. Defense contractor General Dynamics will spend almost $7 billion to buy internet technology company CSRA. The Trump administration has been pushing defense spending aggressively higher. CSRA climbed $9.57, or 31.1 percent, to $40.39 Monday. General Dynamics lost $2.57, or 1.2 percent, to $209.53. Twenty-First Century Fox picked up 66 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $36.40 after The Wall Street Journal reported that cable and internet provider Comcast is still interested in buying Fox’s entertainment divisions and could make another offer. Disney agreed to buy Fox’s movie and television studios and some cable and international TV businesses in December for $52.4 billion. Comcast fell 3 cents to $38.54 while Disney added 30 cents to $103.39. Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stayed at 2.86 percent. In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.68 a gallon. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.84 a gallon. Natural gas slid 3 cents to $2.55 per 1,000 cubic feet. The dollar rose to 108.67 yen from 108.53 yen. The euro rose to $1.2284 from $1.2231. Gold rose $10.70 to $1,326.40 an ounce. Silver jumped 43 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $16.57 an ounce. Copper added 5 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $3.09 a pound. Germany’s DAX jumped 1.4 percent while the CAC 40 in France and the British FTSE 100 both advanced 1.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2 percent and Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.9 percent. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.

The man claiming to have time travelled from 2030's story just got wilder - Independent

The man claiming to have time travelled from 2030's story just got wilder

Posted 14/2/2018 by Narjas Zatat in offbeat

UPVOTE

“Are you an actual time traveller from the year 2030?”

“Yes”, Noah answers, and the Polygraph Test he’s hooked to beeps once, and “TRUE” appears on the video screen.

Noah, a 25-year-old man who claims to be a time traveller from the year 2030, has supposedly passed a lie detector test.

Apex TV, a YouTube channel dedicated to making videos about the “paranormal mysterious” says it hooked the man up to the polygraph test and observed his responses.

Noah claims he travelled from the year 2030 and he has made a number of bizarre statements, including that virtual reality will be incredibly advanced, technology will be so developed it can run a home and Bitcoin will be more popular – though physical currency will still be the main form of currency.

He also claims Donald Trump will be re-elected, however in 2030, someone called “Ilana Remikee” will be president.

Humans will reach Mars in 2028, and we will have made contact with extra-terrestrial life forms.

Um, there are a few problems.

Noah, who in a previous interview with Paranormal Elite said he was actually 50 - years - old (but a drug that reversed the aging process means he looks 25) says he has “no physical evidence” of any of his claims, aside from the “thing that’s inside.

People are sceptical. Naturally.

A number of viewers have pointed out that lie detectors aren’t all that accurate. In fact, a former NSA whistle-blower called it “junk science”, and a number of scientific studies said that polygraphs rely on pseudoscience.

Since it's all about your physiological response, it's quite simple to trick the test by controlling your body's response to the questions.

Others claim that the lie detector test wasn’t even turned on.

Netanyahu says police report on fraud claims 'like Swiss cheese' - Guardian

Netanyahu says police report on fraud claims 'like Swiss cheese'

Israeli prime minister defiant in face of possible indictment, but opposition says his time is up

Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem

Wed 14 Feb 2018 21.54 AEDT Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 21.55 AEDT

Benjamin Netanyahu is caught up in three cases of alleged bribery and misconduct. Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

Benjamin Netanyahu has described a police report into allegations of bribery and fraud against him as being “full of holes, like swiss cheese” as he fights for his political life.

Following a 14-month investigation into two cases of alleged corruption, police recommended on Tuesday evening that the Israeli prime minister be indicted on charges of bribery and breach of trust.

Israel’s attorney general will examine the evidence and then – possibly in several months’ time – decide whether to issue an indictment.

Speaking in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Netanyahu said the police report was misleading and “contrary to the truth and logic”.

“I want to reassure you, the coalition is stable,” he said of his government in response to rumours that political allies might abandon him. He promised to serve his full term until the end of 2019, and dismissed talk of an early election.

Israeli politicians have scrambled to exploit the police, which many believe could deal a fatal blow to his latest four-term tenure whether in court, at the polls or because of political backlash.

“The Netanyahu era is over,” the leader of the opposition Labour party, Avi Gabby, said. “It is the duty of every decent public figure to strengthen the police and the law and to act to end the path of the government headed by Netanyahu.”

The centre-left opposition alliance said the police’s findings were “clear, tough and decisive”. “It’s a difficult evening when Israeli police recommend prosecuting a prime minister in Israel with bribery, fraud and breach of trust,” a statement by Zionist Union statement said.

Yariv Levin, the tourism minister from Netanyahu’s Likud party, said the police recommendations amounted to a coup. All eyes were on the finance minister, Moshe Kahlon, and the education minister Naftali Bennet, who are seen as the pillars of his fraglie coalition. They are influential figures among the premier’s rightwing base and will be assessing if the fallout from the case might prove too toxic for their loyalty.

Kahlon wrote a simple message on Facebook saying that only the attorney general could make athe decision to indict. Bennet said Netanyahu was a man of honest motives who should stay on as premier, but that taking gifts in “large sums over a long period of time” did not meet the standard prime ministers should set.

A poll by the local Channel 10 found last summer that 66% of Israelis believed the premier should resign if indicted. If he can hang on until elections are due late next year, he will become Israel’s longest-serving leader.

In a late-night press conference on Tuesday where he took no questions, Netanyahu tersely rejected the police allegations, which stem from two cases in which he is a suspect.

Case 1000, the so-called “gifts affair”, involves claims that he and his family received valuable gifts from international billionaires, including expensive cigars, pink champagne and jewellery. Alleged wealthy benefactors include the Hollywood producer and media magnate Arnon Milchan and the Australian businessman James Packer.

Police said in a statement that Netanyahu had accepted gifts valued at 750,000 shekels (£150,000) from Milchan, and 250,000 shekels from Packer. In return, Netanyahu had helped Milchan, who has worked on Pretty Woman and Fight Club, with US visa matters and Israeli tax breaks.

Case 2000 relates to secret talks with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the leading Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, in which Nthe prime minister allegedly requested positive coverage in exchange for damaging a competitor, the pro-Netanyahu freesheet Israel Hayom.

Police said both Milchan and Mozes could be charged with bribery. Neither made an immediate comment. Packer is not a suspect.

The police recommendation does not make it certain that Netanyahu will be indicted and the decision by the attorney general could take months. Nor would the prime minister be under any legal obligation to resign.

Police have questioned him several times at his official residence in Jerusalem.

What Kim Jong-un's new photo tells us about North Korea - BBC News

What Kim Jong-un's new photo tells us about North Korea

13 February 2018

Holding hands is a sign of friendship and respect in Korean culture

North Korean state media on Tuesday reported its leader Kim Jong-un's delight with the outcome of his country's attendance at the Winter Olympics.

Released alongside the report was an unusually relaxed photo showing Mr Kim with his sister clutching his arm, and another high-level official holding his hand. Analyst Michael Madden explains what this photo, showing a more casual side to the Kim family, can tell us.

As far as Kim Jong-un's commemorative photo sessions go, this projects a fairly relaxed image of top officials.

Commemorative photographs taken during his on-site visits and military field inspections usually involve carefully selected North Korean citizens, and the photo moment might be the only occasion where they will meet the Supreme Leader, let alone be in close proximity to him.

So we tend to see North Korean workers or soldiers crying, gesticulating in reverence and, when posing for the photograph, standing statue still and giving sombre expressions.

North Korea got what it wanted from the Winter Olympics

A history of North Korea at the Olympics

Kim Yo-jong takes 'real power' south

These photographs are then hung up in whatever room has been earmarked at the worksite or military base that has been designated for displaying "revolutionary history".

Copies are sometimes distributed to the workers or soldiers in them, and citizens who have participated in multiple commemorative photo sessions with him hang the photos, framed of course, in a prominent and honoured place in their homes.

Kim Yo-jong's 'smize'

Senior officials can sometimes appear tense in these photos. This happens for a number of reasons.

One, it is a matter of respect for the moment and not wishing to appear frivolous in front of Kim Jong-un, or in state media.

Two, sometimes these senior officials are posing for these photographs in the course of a busy work day.

Finally, there is always the chance that Mr Kim's on-site visit or inspection did not go well, for whatever reason, and they may have been upbraided by the Supreme Leader himself.

Ms Kim has only recently returned from her trip to the Pyeongchang Olympics

Kim Yo-jong has been an exception, because she has been observed to smirk or smile with her eyes - to smize - in these photos, an indication of her personality and authority in North Korean political culture.

Kim's sister and North Korea's secret weapon

North Korean cheerleaders mesmerise crowds

North Korea: A sporting history of bombs and diplomacy

However, there is very little tension in Mr Kim's new photograph with the high-level delegation that had just spent three days in South Korea meeting senior officials, most notably having several interactions with President Moon Jae-in.

The photo was taken after Mr Kim had received briefings from Kim Yong-nam - the formal North Korean head of state - and Ms Kim, one of his closest aides.

The meeting room where the photo took place is located in central Pyongyang and is familiar to North Korean citizens as it has been the venue of numerous interactions between senior officials and late leader Kim Jong-il.

Look closely at National Sports and Physical Culture Commission Chairman Choe Hwi and Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country Chairman Ri Son-gwon. They still have their notebooks and pens in their hands.

Kim Jong-un flanked by his sister Kim Yo-jong and chairman Choe Hwi on the right, and head of state Kim Yong-nam and chairman Ri Son-gwon on the left

On the one hand, we might view this as a bit of uncertainty. In the event Mr Kim has more instructions or guidance to provide after the shutter stops clicking, they don't want to risk fumbling around for the notebook.

Hiding the notebooks behind their backs and thus clasping their hands in the Supreme Leader's presence would be interpreted as highly disrespectful.

On the other hand, there could be a degree of spontaneity. Perhaps, meeting done, the photo session was impromptu and Mr Choe and Mr Ri did not have time to put their notebooks down.

We don't know if the meeting was lubricated with wine toasts or liquors. Choe Hwi is relaxed and bemused, while Ri Son-gwon (being a former military intelligence officer) almost cracks a smile, in contrast to the fairly tense expression he wore throughout the weekend in the South.

Closer to Mr Kim, we find Kim Yong-nam holding hands with the North Korean leader.

There is an act of respect and deference on Kim Jong-un's part as he is the one holding Kim Yong-nam's arm.

On Kim Jong-un's other side, again in an act of respect, Kim Yo-jong clutches her brother's arm, like other officials that are subordinate to him. The Supreme Leader, when we look closely at his face, is amused at the whole scene. There is a subtle transparency here.

The recently released photograph is also reminiscent of an old photo showing Mr Kim's aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, with her arm around Kim ll-Sung.

Kim Kyong Hui with Kim Il Sung (centre) and Kim Jong-il during the 1970s

During the Sunshine Period between 1998 and 2008, when the South tried to build a closer relationship with the North, many senior North Korean officials went to the South and returned to brief Kim Jong-il. But these meetings were seldom, if ever, reported in real time.

There have been previous photos showing affection between members of the Kim family and certainly photos of senior North Korean officials not looking as if they're posing for their morgue shots. Mr Kim was last year even pictured giving someone a piggyback.

Kim Jong-un has also held the arms or hands of elder senior officials and even civilians before; in Korean culture this is a sign of friendship and respect.

A girl is shown overwhelmed with emotion as she holds the arm of the then-leader Kim Jong-il

The recently released photo is intended to show the more relaxed, freewheeling aspects of the North's top leadership. It softens some of the sharp edges and shows a youthful leader so confident in his role and position in the regime that he is ready to deal with the South.

Such a confident, happy photo might also make audiences forget this is a leader that tests missiles at will and who tolerates little dissent.

Michael Madden is Visiting Scholar of the US Korea Institute at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University and Director of NK Leadership Watch, an affiliate of 38 North.