All aboard the Kim Jong-un Express to China: a rare glimpse inside the armoured train
Footage from North Korea’s state broadcaster shows details from reclusive leader’s first overseas trip, including officials seated in pink armchairs
North Korea’s state broadcaster gave the world a rare glimpse inside the green armoured train that took leader Kim Jong-un to China this week, in a long television report aired on Thursday.
Kim’s visit from Sunday to Wednesday was shrouded in secrecy and only officially confirmed after he returned to Pyongyang. But the 42-minute report by Korean Central Television gave a chronological account of the reclusive leader’s first overseas trip since he succeeded his father in 2011 – including details not reported by Chinese state media.
Starting with a shot of the train heading to Chinese border city Dandong, it shows the carriage housing Kim’s office – much like the one in Pyongyang – with a desk and chair, and a map of China and the Korean peninsula hanging on the wall behind it.
When it arrives in Dandong, officials from the Chinese Communist Party, including International Liaison Department chief Song Tao, are seen boarding the train, watched on by a group of North Korean officials seated in pink armchairs.