photo: KFA-UK on X (Twitter)/Kim Jong-un’s Taeyangho armoured train
An armored limo on rails pulled into Beijing: Kim Jong-un’s Taeyangho—part bunker, part palace—arrived for the WWII parade.
Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing. He came to the Chinese capital for a military parade held on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of World War II. It was at this ceremonial event that he met not only with President Xi Jinping but also with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it issued a March 2023 arrest warrant alleging the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. Will it really come as a surprise that Kim said that he is willing to help Russia in any way, while Putin thanked him for the deployment of North Korean soldiers to help Russia with the genocidal war it has been leading in Ukraine, and invited him to visit Russia?
It would certainly not be an exaggeration to say that the entire world closely followed the meeting of the statesmen, and for a good reason. Our interest, however, logically focused primarily on the style and form of his arrival. The North Korean dictator arrived at the parade in his own way, having covered the 1,300-kilometre journey in his special armored Taeyangho train, which is protected against explosions and other threats.
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Kim Jong-un Arrived in China by Armored Train
The General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Jong-un, arrived in Beijing by his private train on 2 September. The AP agency reports that, in addition to an honor guard of the People’s Liberation Army of China, he was welcomed at the station by Beijing Mayor Yin Yong and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The AFP agency notes that the importance of this trip is underlined by the very fact that since 2011, when Kim assumed the ruling position, he has been abroad only nine times. Kim last traveled to Russia in the autumn of 2023.
The train is not called the Moving Fortress for nothing. It is equipped with bulletproof glass and reinforced walls and floors that protect against explosives. The train is likewise heavily armed. According to available reports, there are heavy weapons on board, including at least two confirmed machine-gun positions, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-tank guided missiles.
An ordinary person will not easily get to see Kim’s train. It is a challenge even to find pictures of the interior of the set. A chance to look inside the train — and even travel alongside Kim Jong-il — was given to the Russian statesman Konstantin Pulikovsky. In the book Orient Express he describes a three-week-long journey. Pulikovsky writes about a luxurious restaurant with live lobsters and wines flown in by air, including directly from France. He also mentions a regiment of female conductors whose task was to entertain the leader’s guests.
The Kims’ Love of Armored Trains Is in Their Genes
Kim Jong-un’s private train set is not an oddity. Both of his predecessors are known for using the same moving fortresses called Taeyangho. These sets have 15 to 20 cars and are mostly hauled by two Chinese DF8 or DF11Z locomotives. In the train fortress, one can find Kim’s office, bedroom, a restaurant car, cars for staff, satellites, machine guns, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, and even two armored Mercedes cars or a helicopter. In its full glory (20 cars + 2 locomotives), the set reaches a length of up to 576 metres. Because of its enormous weight, however, it can travel at a maximum of 60 km/h.
In addition to the low transport speed, North Korean trains also have different track gauges. Because of this, the train crew must constantly carry spare wheelsets so that the train can also run on foreign railways. When traveling to China, however, there is no need to change the wheels. After crossing the border, the hauling locomotive is replaced by a Chinese DF11Z. Despite time complications with wheel changes, the train has historically remained the main means of transport for North Korean leaders both domestically and abroad.
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New Friendships: Leaders of India, North Korea, and Russia Attended the Military Parade
Last Tuesday's trip could be a continuation of the meeting of Eastern leaders. Kim Jong-un is not the only one whom China invited to view the military parade. Britain’s The Telegraph reported that, even before the parade, a summit was held in the city of Tianjin within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization bloc. There, reportedly in a friendly spirit, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met. In Tianjin, more than 20 leaders, predominantly from Central and South Asia, met with them. The summit of Asian powers was formed as a reaction to the aggressive foreign policy of Donald Trump.