Trains, boats and planes: How Kim Jong Un travels abroad

According to a long-standing custom among Korea’s Northn leaders, Mr. Kim will likely spend more than 20 hours riding the slow-moving locomotive 1, 180 km( 733 miles ).

Because of its thick armored protection, it rattles along at a speed of about 50 km / h( 31 mph ).

In contrast, Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains can reach speeds of 320 km / h, while the high-speed rail in London travels at a speed of about 200 km per hour.

The lengthy trip even takes into account the occasionally outdated rail system in the North.

The name Taeyangho, the Asian word for the moon and a nod to Korea’s North’s leader Kim Il Sung, has been given to the station.

The government’s leader Kim Il Sung, the father of Kim Jong Un, who took his own station on visits to Vietnam and southeast Europe, established the tradition of long-distance rail travel.

These opulent trains are allegedly heavily guarded by security personnel who look for weapons and other threats along the routes and at future stations.

According to reports, Kim Jong Il, who ruled Korea’s North from 1994 until his death in 2011, had to travel by train out of need due to his fear of flying.

Notably, Kim Jong Il visited Moscow for ten times in 2001 to meet with Mr. Putin.

In his autobiography Orient Express, Russian military chief Konstantin Pulikovsky, who rode with the former Korea’s Northn leader in 2001, described its luxury.

Any dish from Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Chinese, or French cuisine could be ordered.

Even Mr. Putin’s personal train, he claimed,” did not have the satisfaction of Kim Jong Il’ train.”

He reportedly passed away from a soul attack while riding the train, according to Korea’s Northn state media.

Chosun Ilbo, a liberal Korea’s Northn newspaper, reported in November 2009 that Kim Jong Il’s armored train had about 90 cars. Additionally, the green car with the golden band had bedrooms, conference rooms, and audience rooms with satellite phones and televisions for briefings.

Given that Kim Jong Un has taken to the skies in his Russian-built private jet on numerous occasions, he might not reveal his family’s fear of flying.

However, he had even taken a station to Vladivostok in the far east of Russia when they last spoke in 2019. Authorities then made a customary bread and salt offering to welcome him.

Kim Jong Un most likely made his next trip abroad at that time. According to reports, he travels by the same station that his parents did.

If it does, his rumored journey will most likely begin in Pyongyang and pass through Tumangang place at the Russian frontier, where the train’s tires may be switched for the tracks in Russia.

At least a few hours or more should pass before the vehicle change is activated.

In addition to trains, Mr. Kim has also been observed traveling on another opulent modes of transportation that stand in stark contrast to the substandard way of life of the Korea’s Northn citizens.

Kim Jong Un is no stranger to flying after attending boarding school in Switzerland.

He took his first andnbsp, an international trip since taking office, to the Chinese city of Dalian in May 2018 to join with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He may have originally flown within Korea’s North in his personal aircraft, according to media reports.

He was transported to China in a long-range aircraft built by the Soviet Union called the Ilyushin – 62( Il’ 62 ).

According to Korea’s Northn website NK News, visitors give it the name” Chammae-1″ in honor of a regional bird species.

The national flag is placed next to the text and Korea’s North’s recognized name in Korean is emblazoned on the whitened exterior of the aircraft on two sides. Inside the red and blue circles of the seat, there is a dark star.

Kim has often been seen working and holding meetings on board the aircraft, which has contemporary interiors.

The Chammae-1 garnered attention when it brought Pyongyang’s elite Olympic mission, which included Kim Yo-jong, to South Korea in 2018.

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the flight used the identification number” PRK – 615 ,” which may have been a symbolic allusion to the North-South Joint Declaration, which was signed on June 15 by the two nations in 2000.

In a 2014 documentary aired by state-owned Korean Central Television, Kim is also pictured using the Ukrainian Antonov – 148 ( AN-148 ), which features the logo of the state airline Air Koryo.

Even in 2015, Kim Jong Un was seen sitting at the controls of an AN-2 military aircraft while piloting a” homemade” light aircraft in Korea’s Northn state media.

Mr. Kim took a coach to Beijing, the capital of China, in March 2018, but he traveled inside the town in his own Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

The vehicle was particularly transported on board the party’s train, according to Korea’s Northn daily JoongAng Ilbo.

According to the report, the vehicles, which was produced in 2010, cost about 2 billion Korean won($ 1.8 million ).

When Mr. Kim drove across the frontier with bodyguards running alongside at the 2018 Inter-Korean conference at Panmunjom, his preferred S-Class model was important.

A secret bathroom car was reportedly used by the head of his convoy at the summit to respond to nature’s calls while on the move.

A customized bathroom is included in one of Kim’s convoy of armored vehicles, according to a 2015 report by Seoul-based & nbsp, website DailyNK.

Mr. Kim has been seen riding a variety of vehicles in Korea’s Northn state media, including ships, submarines, buses, and even ski lifts.

Other modes of transportation are also rumored to be used by him, but they have not already been used on his international travels.