North Korea’s chief Kim Jong-un made a uncommon go to to Russia to fulfill President Vladimir Putin. He travelled on his lavish armoured practice, which is a sluggish however luxurious approach of travelling. The practice, known as ‘Taeyangho’, that means the solar in Korean, is a tribute to Kim Il Sung, the founding father of North Korea. The practice can solely go at about 50km/h due to its heavy safety, whereas some trains in different nations can go as quick as 320 km/h.
The BBC reported that Kim Jong-un spent greater than 20 hours on the practice, masking a distance of about 1,180 km. He was accompanied by prime officers from the ruling celebration and the navy, in line with the North’s official media KCNA. The KCNA stated Kim “left right here by his practice on Sunday afternoon to go to the Russian Federation”.
Russian media additionally reported that Kim’s practice arrived on the border metropolis of Khasan on Tuesday and was heading to the Far Japanese metropolis of Ussuriysk, citing a railway supply.
The practice has about 90 carriages, in line with a South Korean newspaper report in 2009. It has convention rooms, viewers chambers and bedrooms, with satellite tv for pc telephones and flat-screen TVs for briefings.
The practice additionally has a restaurant that serves superb French wines from Paris and dishes akin to contemporary lobster, with dancers and performers to entertain the friends, in line with two Russians who travelled with Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong-un’s father, on an analogous journey to Moscow in 2001.
Kim Jong Il, who dominated North Korea from 1994 till his demise in 2011, took 10 days to get to Moscow by practice in 2001 to fulfill Putin. He died of a coronary heart assault whereas travelling on the practice in 2011.
The practice journey custom was began by Kim Il Sung, who took his personal locomotive on journeys to Vietnam and Japanese Europe. The trains are closely guarded by safety brokers who examine the routes and stations for any threats.
The BBC reported that Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian navy commander, wrote in his memoir “Orient Specific” that the practice supplied any dish of Russian, Chinese language, Korean, Japanese and French delicacies. He additionally stated that reside lobsters and circumstances of purple wine from Paris had been delivered to the practice to fulfill the chief’s palate.
Georgy Toloraya, one other former Russian diplomat, wrote in 2019 about his expertise on the identical practice trip. He talked about that donkey meat and abalones, that are thought-about delicacies, had been flown in from Pyongyang. He additionally stated that Russian Normal vodka was a staple on the practice.
Each Russians additionally described how performers and singers entertained the friends on the practice. Kim Jong Il was keen on music and films and had a big assortment of DVDs and CDs. He additionally had a private orchestra and a movie studio.
Kim Jong Il died of a coronary heart assault on the practice in 2011, in line with North Korean state media. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Un, who has continued the custom of travelling by practice for his international journeys.
