North Korean leaders' trains

Trains have historically been used by many global leaders and royalty, but particularly military leaders, due to their high speed, security and ability to accommodate extensive office and personal facilities within one mobile location.

Kim Il Sung used a train during the Korean War as his headquarters, and continued the preference after the cessation of hostilities. He started the building of numerous secure palaces, many of which are either directly accessed by or close to railway stations, 19 of which it is estimated are accessed only by the private trains.

Kim Jong Il's preference for the railroad transport was due to his fear of flying.[2][3] Kim used the trains when he visited army units and factories or travelled abroad. The private trains still serve a network of 19 stations across North Korea (including some underground palaces only accessible by rail).

In December 2011, it was reported by North Korean television that Kim Jong Il died while on a train, during a domestic trip.[4]

Over the years multiple trains were needed for security reasons. The trains have between 10 and 15 carriages.[5] The train has bulletproof glass and reinforced walls and floors to protect against explosives. Also heavy weapons are reportedly on board.[6] Some carriages are only used by the leader, like a bedroom and bathroom, and others are carrying security guards and medical staff. In 2001 the train included one residential carriage, named the "headquarters" carriage, a restaurant, several car for transportation of carriages and the train contained two armoured Mercedes cars.[5]

The train had satellite communication system connecting all the carriages.[5]

Parts of the interior of the trains are only known from the images and video’s when a state leader was traveling. While meeting Chinese officials in 2018 a wide white interior train carriage was ringed with pink couches. There are conference rooms, with long tables and TV screens.[6] The carriage of the office of Kim had a desk and chair; a map of China and the Korean peninsula on the wall behind it.[5] Footage from 2020 showed a carriage decorated with flower-shaped lighting and zebra-printed fabric chairs.[5]

The trains are usually pulled by two power units. It was reported in 2009 that Kim Jong Il made use of a fleet of six personal trains, which are made up of 90 armored luxury railcars. Each armoured train has modern communications equipment, such as satellite phones, enabling the leader to obtain briefings and issue orders while traveling.

Security measures were increased after a 2004 explosion in Ryongchon near the border with China. The explosion, which was believed to have been caused by a train laden with oil and chemicals hitting power lines, occurred three hours after one of Kim's trains had passed through the area. This led to rumors that it might have been an assassination attempt.

After a train journey is confirmed, around 100 security officers check the route and stations in advance for possible dangers.[6] The area around the journey is cleared 24 hours before the three-train set travels.

Now limited to 60 km/h (37 mph) due to the heavy weight, the private trains travel in groups of three:[7]

• The first running ahead to check the safety of railway lines
• The middle one typically carries the leader, with a time delay of between 20 minutes and an hour after the first
• A third train carries additional security staff, followers and communications equipment

The electricity is turned off at stations so that other trains cannot run.[6]

Trains also have been used for travel abroad, with direct connection to China, and onward connection to Russia with a gauge-change.[8] Kim Il Sung travelled regularly abroad by train until he died in 1994.[6] Kim Il Sung's longest train journey took place in 1984 when he visited almost every socialist country in Eastern Europe.[9] The train ride went via China, through the Soviet Union, with stops in Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania. The rest of the trip went through the Soviet Union, again.

When traveling to Russia the train wheels must be changed somewhere around the border because Russia has different rail gauges.[5] A second train accompanied Kim's carrying bogies of the other gauge needed.

On Kim Jong Il's visit to Russia in 2001, the train was reported to have had 22 carriages.[2] Life on board was reported to be luxurious, with regular stops to stock up on live lobster and Bordeaux and Beaujolais wine flown in from Paris.[10][11] In April 2010, North Korea watchers inferred an unannounced visit to China by Kim, based on the supposed sighting of his train in the Chinese border city of Dandong;[12] soon, however, it was learned that the train in question was just a regular cargo train, and Kim remained in North Korea.[13] In August 2011, Kim Jong Il visited Ulan-Ude, Russia, roughly 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) by train from Pyongyang. In Ulan-Ude, he met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

In March 2018, the Kim family's train was reportedly sighted in Beijing, which, along with heightened security around the Chinese government's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse led to speculation that Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol-ju were visiting China. This was confirmed when they met with General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.[14] This marked the first time that North Korea's leader had left the country since taking power in 2011.

In February 2019, Kim travelled by train to the Hanoi Summit, where he met with US President Donald Trump for talks about denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lifting sanctions against North Korea.[15] In April 2019, Kim took the train to travel to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok.[16]

In 2020, Kim travelled by train to visit a typhoon-hit area.[5]

In September 2023, Kim's private train stopped at Khasan railway station to greet Russian officials[17] on his way to another summit with Putin in the Russian Far East.[18]

When providing "on-the-spot guidance" to the workers constructing Pyongyang Metro, Kim Il Sung used a special funicular-like vehicle to descend to a station under construction (it was riding in the inclined tunnel that was to be eventually used by the escalators), and a railbus to travel around the system. Both vehicles are now on display in the Pyongyang Metro Museum.[19]

• Residences of North Korean leaders
• Rail transport in North Korea
• Trotsky's train