North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has reportedly departed and is on his way to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the port city of Vladivostok as they are expected to discuss increasing military cordiality and cooperation possibly Pyongyang selling weapons to Moscow amid its war in Ukraine.
Kim was accompanied by top government officials, including military personnel, KCNA reported confirming the high-level visit.
Kim Jong Un is aboard his bulletproof train which is loaded with all the luxuries while he is on his 20-hour-long journey. The train services include a fine restaurant with French wines and fresh dishes. The luxury train is moving at the speed of about 50km/h (31mph).
This tradition was first started by Kim Jong Un’s grandfather Kim Il Sung as he used the trains to travel through Eastern Europe and Vietnam.
These trains are luxurious and heavily protected with high-end security clearance of the routes from state agents.
Kim Jong Un's father Kim Jong Il was afraid of airplanes therefore, he used trains for transportation. He ruled North Korea from 1994 until his death in 2011.
It reportedly took 10 days for Un’s father in 2001 to reach Moscow and meet Vladimir Putin.
A Russian commander Konstantin Pulikovsky wrote in his memoir Orient Express about the richges and luxuries of the then-North Korean leader saying it was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine."
The Russian also mentioned live lobsters being transported to the train to ensure the availability of fresh delicacies, while cases of red wine from Bordeaux and Burgundy were also flown in from Paris.
He stated: "Even Putin's private train did not have the comfort of Kim Jong Il's train."
Another former Russian diplomat, Georgy Toloraya, told his experience in 2019 recalling dishes considered delicacies being flown in from Pyongyang. Russian Standard vodka was also a fixture.
Not only food, but the Russians also mentioned about entertainment on the train for the guests aboard.
As his father was afraid of flying, Kim Jong Un is not. He flew via plane several times for his foreign trips.
However, during his last meeting with Putin in 2019, he used a train.
Not only trains North Korean leader also has other luxurious transportation sources that show a contrast about how an ordinary North Korean lives.
Kim attended school in Switzerland.
His first international trip since coming to power was in May 2018 when he went to the Chinese city of Dalian to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to media reports, he had been using his private jet for domestic trips.
There is an official North Korea's name written on the white Russian-made aircraft, with modern interiors as shown in photographs taken from inside while the 39-year-old leader holds a meeting.
The Chammae-1 — the official name of the plane — was in the news when it took the North Korean Olympic delegation, including Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong, to South Korea in 2018.
According to Yonhap news agency, the flight used the identification number "PRK-615", possibly a symbolic reference to the 15 June North-South Joint Declaration signed in 2000 by the two countries.
The leader of the nuclear-armed country was also spotted using a Ukrainian Antonov-148 (AN-148), featuring state airline Air Koryo's logo, in a 2014 documentary aired by Korean Central Television.
The state broadcaster in 2015 also showed footage of the weapons-obsessed leader piloting a "homegrown" light aircraft and sitting at the controls of an AN-2 military biplane.
In his riches, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class is also on the list which he uses to travel within the city.
According to South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, the car was specially transported on board the train.
JoongAng Ilbo reported that the 2010-manufactured car cost roughly 2 billion Korean won ($1.8m).
His S-Class model was highlighted during the 2018 inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom when he drove across the border with security guards running on both sides.
According to reports, the tail of the convoy at the summit also featured a private toilet car.