Kim Jong Un‘s Armored Train: A ‘Fortress’ on Wheels and a Political Statement
Kim Jong Un has once again opted for rail travel for a recent trip to Beijing, continuing a pattern of preferring trains for important diplomatic engagements. North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency released photographs on Tuesday depicting Kim inside a lavishly appointed train carriage, seemingly en route to the Chinese capital.The images reveal a workspace within the train, featuring a desk equipped with a laptop, ashtray, printer, lamp, and multiple telephones. The space is decorated with the North Korean flag and blue velvet curtains. Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is pictured seated beside Kim,reviewing documents. Another photograph shows Kim outside the train, smoking a cigarette, surrounded by officials.
This preference for train travel isn’t new. In September 2023, Kim undertook a nine-day journey by train to meet with Vladimir Putin in Russia‘s Far East. He previously travelled by train to Vladivostok in april 2019, and to Hanoi, Vietnam in February of the same year for a summit with then-US President donald Trump, a trip lasting approximately 60 hours. He has visited China four times, utilizing the train for his first two trips in march 2018 and January 2019.
While Kim previously used his private jet, the Chammae-1, for two trips in May and June 2018, it hasn’t been publicly used since, with analysts suggesting concerns about its age and maintenance.
These are not ordinary trains. Analysts describe Kim’s fleet of special trains, manufactured in Pyongyang, as heavily fortified.They are equipped with bulletproof windows, reinforced walls and floors designed to withstand explosives. According to Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, the train is “said to be able to withstand most artillery shells – really essentially a fortress,” and possesses “defensive and offensive capabilities to endure virtually any military battle.”
Beyond security,experts highlight the strategic advantages of train travel. Unlike aircraft, a moving train is a more tough target. It also allows Kim to travel with a larger entourage and even transport vehicles.
the choice of the train also serves a political purpose. Park Min-ju, a professor at the National Institute for Unification Education, notes that the train journey “makes for a powerful display to the people – a symbolic image of the leader working long hours on board, even late at night.” Koh Yu-hwan, emeritus professor of North Korean studies at South Korea’s Dongguk University, adds that the extended travel time “captures global attention” and “helps keep the spotlight on him” leading up to important diplomatic events.
Kim has also utilized his armored train for domestic purposes, such as a visit to flood-hit areas in North Pyongan Province last summer, even using a carriage as a makeshift stage for a speech to residents.