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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is en route to China aboard one of his heavily armored, fortress-style trains, state media reported Monday.
The 41-year-old dictator is expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday to attend a military parade with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kim’s visit marks his first trip to Beijing since 2019 and comes as Pyongyang seeks to bolster ties with both China and Russia.
The event commemorates the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, highlighting Beijing’s efforts to showcase military power and deepen alliances at a time of heightened global tensions.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Beijing to watch a military parade (Photo of Golden Dome: Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
According to Chinese news agency Yonhap News, Kim’s train, dubbed Taeyangho, which means “moving fortress”, will make sure the dictator is fully protected in transit.
The North Korean train is bulletproof and travels at a slow speed of around 60 kilometers per hour.
The journey to Beijing is expected to take about 20 hours to cover the 1,300-kilometer route, slowed by the train’s heavy armor and rail conditions in North Korea.
Yonhap also reported that the train typically carries between 10 and 15 carriages, some reserved exclusively for Kim, such as a private bedroom.
Other carriages house security guards and medical staff, per the Associated Press.
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Kim Jong Un boards one of his military-style train as he leaves the Vostochny Сosmodrome after a meeting with Russia’s President Putin in Russia in 2023 (Reuters)
The armored train may also have conference rooms, audience chambers and bedrooms.
On Monday, Kim Chon-il, director of the North Korean foreign ministry’s press and information department, confirmed the leader’s departure on a private train.
“Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, left here for Beijing by his private train on Sept. 1 to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War,” Korean Central News Agency reported, citing the ministry official.
Kim is accompanied by senior party and government officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, KCNA added.
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North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un disembarks from a train as he arrives at the Dong Dang railway station, Vietnam, at the border with China in 2019 (Reuters)
The military parade in Beijing will see thousands of troops march through Tiananmen Square in a 70-minute display featuring China’s latest weaponry.
The visit comes shortly after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s high-profile trip to the United States and meeting Donald Trump last month, where he emphasized trilateral cooperation to counter North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs.
Traveling by armored train to high-profile events is a family tradition for North Korea’s ruling dynasty.
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Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, also relied on rail travel, reportedly due to a fear of flying.
Kim has continued the practice, including on his last trip to Beijing in 2019 and two meetings with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.