Why Kim Jong Un relies on his green armoured train for foreign trips

Why it matters

Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang on September 1 and crossed into China by train to attend a military parade in Beijing scheduled for 3 September, according to North Korea’s state media, reported by CNN. Photos showed him sitting at a wooden table with the North Korean flag behind him, joined by senior officials including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui.

A train similar to one seen during previous visits by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives at Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, China, on Jan. 8, 2019. (AP Photo)

The train journey comes as world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin gather in Beijing for the event. Kim’s reliance on this slow-moving but secure mode of travel continues a family tradition.

The green train’s history

The green train, lined with yellow stripes, has long been linked with the Kim dynasty. Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, reportedly avoided flying and travelled abroad mainly by train. His trips included a 2002 visit to Russia during a period of reduced sanctions.

A former Russian official, Konstantin Pulikovsky, described life on board during Kim Jong Il’s travels. According to a 2002 account reported by CNN, Pulikovsky wrote that “it was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine”. He also claimed that Bordeaux wines and live lobsters were brought in along the route.

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows that North Korea leader Kim Jong Un greets attendants in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 10, 2023, before boarding on a train to Russia. (AP)

But those accounts belong to a different era. International sanctions were tightened again in 2003 after North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since then, little reliable information has emerged from the country, while reports point to widespread poverty and food shortages.

Features of the train

South Korean media reports have detailed the train’s security features. A 2009 article in the Chosun Ilbo, cited by CNN, said the train was so heavily armoured that it travels at an average of only 60 km per hour.

It was reported to contain conference rooms, bedrooms, and audience chambers, along with satellite phone connections and flat-screen televisions. To enhance security, power on other railway lines is switched off before the train enters a station, according to the South Korean paper.

Kim’s use of the train

Kim Jong Un has used the train on several international trips. He travelled to Beijing in 2018 to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping – his first foreign trip since taking power and again in 2019. Later that year, he took the train to Vietnam to meet US President Donald Trump, although no agreement was reached at that summit.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from his train as he arrives at the railway station in Dong Dang, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019, for an expected meeting with President Trump. (AP Photo)

In April 2019, Kim used the same train to reach Vladivostok, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time.

The train has also been used in state propaganda, portraying Kim and his predecessors meeting citizens across the country. A life-sized model of one of its carriages is now displayed in a mausoleum near Pyongyang, where Kim’s father and grandfather are buried.

Although Kim has also travelled by private jet, the train remains a symbol of continuity in North Korean leadership. As CNN reports, the train not only offers security but also projects an image of tradition that ties Kim Jong Un to his father and grandfather.