Why does Kim Jong-un often travel abroad by armored train?
(Dan Tri) – International media has long asked why North Korean leader Kim Jong-un always likes to take armored trains on foreign trips, instead of choosing to fly.
Mr. Kim Jong-un left the train car after arriving at Khasan border station, Russia’s Primorsky Krai region in April 2019 (Photo: AP).
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on September 12 to have a meeting with host country President Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders of Russia and North Korea met today at the Vostochny cosmodrome, Amur region, Russia.
As predicted by the world media, Mr. Kim used a traditional method of travel to reach Russia: a luxury armored train.
According to sources, Kim Jong-un’s choice of armored trains during his trips is for security reasons.
According to South Korean press, North Korea has a total of 90 special carriages and operates 3 parallel trains when the leader travels abroad.
High-tech communication equipment and flat-screen TVs are also installed inside the train so the North Korean leader can issue orders and receive briefings.
To demonstrate the train’s symbolic importance, a life-size model of one of the carriages is on permanent display at the mausoleum on the outskirts of Pyongyang, the resting place of late Chairman Kim Jong-un.
Mr. Kim Jong-un (second left) talks with Head of the Foreign Liaison Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Song Tao (second right) on the train returning from China in January 2019 (Photo
Occasionally travel by plane
But sometimes, Kim Jong-un, who studied for several years in Switzerland, also travels by plane on trips abroad.
During his trip to the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian in 2018 to meet host President Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un traveled by plane.
The plane carrying Kim Jong-un is an improved version of the Soviet-made IL-62.
Korean media said the plane can carry about 200 people and has a maximum flight range of about 9,200 km, but it is said to have never flown that far.
From 2018-2019, a total of Mr. Kim Jong-un went to China 4 times to meet Mr. Xi Jinping, 2 of which went by train and 2 times on a private jet.
Since closing the border in early 2020 to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Kim has not met any foreign leaders.
Expert Yang Moo-jin, President of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea, said Kim Jong-un’s second trip to Russia could signal a restart of Pyongyang’s foreign policy, and