Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
What we know about Kim Jong Un's train — a slow-moving bulletproof fortress
Kim Jong Un steps off his train in 2019 ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit.
(
Nhac Nguyen
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
On Monday, a dark green train with yellow trim was spotted at the border where Russia, China and North Korea meet. Its distinctive coloring identified it as a one-of-a-kind vehicle that runs with one passenger in mind: the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.
Kim rarely leaves North Korea. And when he does, he rarely flies, preferring to take an armored train, just like his father and grandfather did before him. This time, Kim is believed to be on his way to Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin — his first known trip outside North Korea in more than four years.
A slow-moving bulletproof fortress
So what do we know about Kim's locomotive fortress? Well, for one, it's gargantuan.
Support for LAist comes from
In 2009, the Chosun media outlet in South Korea published details on the train used by Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, and estimated that its engine pulled around 90 cars behind it. More recent estimates of Kim Jong Un's train suggest that number may have dropped to 21. Some reports also suggest that two other trains travel with Kim's main train: one to check the tracks ahead, and another to carry his security entourage.
On Monday, a green train with yellow trimmings, resembling one used by Kim Jong Un on his previous travels, is seen steaming by a slogan which reads "towards a new victory" on the North Korea border with Russia and China.
(
Ng Han Guan
/
AP
)
The train contains bedrooms and conference rooms used for official state business. Few images of its interior have been released, but one video released in 2018 showed Kim meeting with top Chinese officials in a wide train car ringed with pink couches.
Weighed down by bulletproof siding, the train moves at a glacial pace compared to most modern trains. It's estimated that it only moves at a speed of around 28 miles per hour on tracks in North Korea, and can increase its speed when it operates on China's rail network.
All in the family
The Kim family's penchant for traveling by train started with Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea, who was once gifted a train carriage by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. His son, Kim Jong Il, was famously afraid of flying, and preferred to travel by train. In 2010, his former bodyguard told South Korean media that the North Korean leader was afraid of being shot down by his enemies if he traveled by plane. Kim died of heart failure the following year – and North Korean state media said that he was on a train when he passed away.
In this photo released by press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's security officers wait for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un near the train as he leaves Russia, at the main train station in Vladivostok, Russia, on April 26, 2019.
(
Alexander Safronov
/
AP
)
Support for LAist comes from
Kim Jong Un, the current leader of North Korea, has continued the family tradition. In 2019, he traveled around 4,500 kilometers through China in the armored train to reach Vietnam for his second face-to-face meeting with then-President Donald Trump. The journey took two-and-a-half days.
A repeat summit
This week, Kim seems poised to arrive at his summit with Putin in similar fashion. South Korean media have reported that Kim left Pyongyang by train late on Sunday, and that a large security presence had descended on the train station in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, in anticipation of Kim's arrival.
In this 2019 photo, a train carrying Kim Jong Un arrives for a planned meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, Russia.
(
Alexander Khitrov
/
AP
)
Details about the potential meeting between Kim and Putin are scarce, but the Kremlin has confirmed that Kim will be arriving for an official visit. Over the weekend, Jon Finer, the chief deputy national security advisor for President Joe Biden, suggested that North Korea could be in the position of selling weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. For his part, Kim may be looking for much-needed food aid and advanced military technology. Kim and Putin have only met one other time, four years ago in the same Russian city of Vladivostok – then, too, he arrived in his bulletproof train.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDA1OTI3MjQ5MDEyODUwMTE2MzM1YzNmZA004))
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist