Kim Jong Un’s trademark armored train is once again in the spotlight, having carried the North Korean leader on a rare trip to Beijing, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Why It Matters
By taking the custom-built train, Kim projects power and prestige in a display that contrasts sharply with life for most in North Korea, where nearly half the population was estimated to be malnourished between 2020 and 2022, according to United Nations figures.
On Kim’s visit, his first to China since January 2019, he is expected to attend a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, joining the heads of state of North Korea’s two most important allies.
Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in China and the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
What To Know
The train crossed into China at dawn on Tuesday, according to North Korea’s state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun. “Leading officials” of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and the North Korean government were also aboard.
South Korean media cited Seoul’s National Intelligence Service as telling lawmakers that Kim’s wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, may also be traveling with him.
The bulletproof train, known as Taeyang-ho or “sun train,” continues a Kim dynasty tradition of ruling from the rails. It began with the state founder, Kim Il Sung, who traveled by rail to fellow communist countries, including Vietnam and members of the former Soviet bloc.
Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, who reportedly feared flying, used a train equipped with around 90 armored carriages.
South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper, in a 2009 report, cited intelligence sources as saying the elder Kim traveled in a three-train caravan: the first train was tasked with security sweeps, the second carried Kim himself, and a third trailed with his personal guards.
About 20 train stations across the country were reportedly built or modified to accommodate his movements.
The trains have been described as luxurious. Former Russian official Konstantin Pulikovsky, who traveled with Kim Jong Il, wrote in his 2002 book, Orient Express, that Kim Jong Un’s train offered a range of cuisines, as well as live lobster, French wine, and performances by young female entertainers.
The trains are also said to boast conference rooms, bedrooms, and satellite phone connections to keep the supreme leader connected to Pyongyang.
Nicknamed the “moving fortress,” the train used by Kim Jong Un is said to feature bulletproof windows, reinforced flooring, and walls to resist blasts, as well as onboard anti-aircraft weapons, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Unification.
South Korean military sources, cited in the Chosun Ilbo, reported that the train features radar-guided guns, surface-to-air missile launchers, and even a helicopter as an emergency escape option. All of this adds considerable weight: the train travels at a maximum of 35 miles per hour, meaning the roughly 800-mile journey to Beijing takes about 20 hours.
Kim has used the olive-green train for the majority of his seven foreign visits, including his most recent international visit to Russia’s Far East in 2023.
What Happens Next
Kim’s visit marks the first multilateral appearance and the first time that Chinese, Russian, and North Korean leaders will have gathered in one place.
“The presence of Kim and Putin in Beijing formalizes the China-Russia-North Korea trilateral [relationship] to the public,” Soo Kim, a geopolitical risk consultant and former CIA analyst, told Agence France-Presse.
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