Dictator's luxury armored train: How Kim Jong Un to travel to Russia for meeting with Putin
How do Kim Jong Un and Putin's armored trains differ (Collage by Styler)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has decided to embark on a trip to another country for the first time in nearly four years. He intends to visit the Russian city of Vladivostok for a meeting with Putin.
What mode of transportation does Kim Jong Un use, and how does his luxurious train differ from Putin's? Read the material below.
Kim Jong Un's train
Kim Jong Un has a luxurious and armored train. Due to the heavy armor on the train, it moves very slowly, at just over 37 km/h. Additionally, this train is exceptionally long, consisting of 90 cars.
According to The Washington Post, it is on this armored train that the North Korean leader intends to visit Russia. In Vladivostok, he will meet with Russian dictator Putin to discuss the supply of weapons that Russia will use against Ukraine.
According to Russian diplomat Georgy Toloraya, who traveled on this train, some of the cars were transporting two armored vehicles for the Korean dictator.
In 2001, Russian experts inspected Kim Jong Un's train. They found special armored plates beneath the main railway cars, which were used for residential and official purposes. The cars were of Soviet origin but had clearly undergone significant modifications.
The train experiences frequent malfunctions during its journey and sometimes stops for security reasons. Approximately 100 security agents inspect all stations along the route for potential threats. Often, the electricity at stations is simply turned off to prevent the movement of other trains.
The cars of this train are painted in green and yellow. Inside, there are glossy white interiors with long tables and flat-screen monitors. There are also rooms with red leather chairs.
There are very few photographs from inside the train, and only guests of the Korean leader can provide insights. For example, Russian official Konstantin Pulikovsky described Kim Jong Un's train in his book.
He mentioned that the train had an extensive menu with dishes from Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and French cuisines. The train also had crates of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines and live lobsters. Guests were entertained by young singers.
Kim rarely leaves North Korea's borders since taking leadership of the country in 2011 after his father's death. During the pandemic, North Korea significantly restricted contact with the rest of the world. In 2021, Russian diplomats managed to leave the country on this very train.
Although Kim has an excellent armored train, he prefers not to leave North Korea. This will be his first trip outside the country in the past 4 years.
