North Korea's Kim likely to use bulletproof special train for his upcoming trip to China

Seoul, Aug 29 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to use his personal bulletproof special train when he travels to Beijing to attend China's large-scale military parade next week, sources said Friday.

Kim is scheduled to attend a high-profile military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945, which it observes as its victory day over Japan.

No information has been made available so far about when and how Kim will depart Pyongyang for Beijing. But attention has been drawn to what mode of transport and route the highly security-conscious leader will take.

Kim is more likely to use his customized special train than "Chammae-1," the private plane Kim reportedly used for long-distance domestic trips in his early years in office.

For his four previous visits to China between 2018-2019, Kim traveled twice by the train and twice by the aircraft. Trips by train lasted four days, while those by air lasted two days.

In recent years, however, no cases of Kim using the aircraft have been confirmed, a phenomenon possibly attributable to the plane's old age.

Chammae-1 was again not used when Kim flew to Singapore in 2018 for his first summit with US President Donald Trump. He had to borrow a plane from China for the trip at that time.

Amid no signs of North Korea acquiring a new airplane to replace Chammae-1, Kim's personal train is expected to be his mode of transport for the upcoming trip to China.

"Considering various circumstances, Kim is expected to use his special train for the upcoming trip to China," said a source well-versed in North Korean affairs.

In a potential sign backing the prediction, the Zhonglian Hotel in Dandong, a Chinese city near the North Korean border, reportedly suspended reservations for foreign tourists during the period before and after the parade.

Located along the train route from North Korea to China, the hotel has a track record of suspending bookings for foreign tourists when Kim traveled to China, Yonhap news agency reported.

Although the possibility of Kim borrowing a plane from China again cannot be entirely ruled out, he is unlikely to rely on Chinese assistance for his first appearance on the stage of multilateral diplomacy.

Kim's special train is reportedly armed with bulletproof plates and a mortar for security, as well as communication lines, global positioning system equipment and other amenities. A Russian official who boarded the train described it as a "perfect moving fortress" during a media appearance in 2011.

However, due to poor rail conditions in North Korea, the train moves at an average speed of around 60 kilometers per hour, making overseas trips long and time-consuming.

--IANS

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