North Korean presidential trains
Encyclopedia
North Korea
n leader Kim Jong Il is known to use his high-security private trains as his preferred method of domestic and international travel, as was his father and predecessor Kim Il Sung.
It has been reported that Kim Jong Il's preference for the railroad transport is due to his fear of flying
. Little is known about the train other than that it is heavily armored and is usually pulled by two power units. On his visit to Russia in 2002 the train was reported to have had 22 carriages. Life on board is reported to be luxurious.
It was reported in 2009 that Kim Jong Il makes use of a fleet of six presidential trains, which are made up of 90 armored luxury railcars. The presidential trains are said to serve a network of 19 stations across North Korea (including some underground palaces only accessible by rail). They also have been used for Kim's travel abroad.
In April 2010, North Korea watchers were inferring Kim's unannounced visit to China based on the supposed sighting of his train in the Chinese border city of Dandong
; soon, however, it was learned that the train in question was just a regular cargo train, and Kim remained in North Korea.
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n leader Kim Jong Il is known to use his high-security private trains as his preferred method of domestic and international travel, as was his father and predecessor Kim Il Sung.
It has been reported that Kim Jong Il's preference for the railroad transport is due to his fear of flying
Fear of flying
A fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane , or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromerhanophobia....
. Little is known about the train other than that it is heavily armored and is usually pulled by two power units. On his visit to Russia in 2002 the train was reported to have had 22 carriages. Life on board is reported to be luxurious.
It was reported in 2009 that Kim Jong Il makes use of a fleet of six presidential trains, which are made up of 90 armored luxury railcars. The presidential trains are said to serve a network of 19 stations across North Korea (including some underground palaces only accessible by rail). They also have been used for Kim's travel abroad.
In April 2010, North Korea watchers were inferring Kim's unannounced visit to China based on the supposed sighting of his train in the Chinese border city of Dandong
Dandong
Dandong , previously known as Andong and Antung, is a city in Liaoning Province, Northeast China. It lies on the border between China and North Korea, which is marked by the Yalu River, and is the largest border city in China. Also, to the southwest of the city, the river flows into Korea Bay...
; soon, however, it was learned that the train in question was just a regular cargo train, and Kim remained in North Korea.