Kim Jong Un’s recent visit to Beijing was not merely another diplomatic mission it was a show. The North Korean ruler rode into the Chinese capital in his iconic green armoured train, intentionally evoking decades of dynastic heritage and a deliberate demonstration of strength.
1. The Armoured Train as a Rolling Throne Room
Titled the Taeyang-ho, or “Sun Train,” it is a heavily armoured locomotive more concerned with symbolism than speed. At a pace of approximately 60 kilometres per hour, it transforms a journey that might take two hours by plane into one of 20 hours. On board, state media pictures showed luxurious meeting rooms with leather seating, golden-knotted drapes, and the leader himself beaming alongside Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. Previous reports of Russian officials who accompanied Kim’s father included instances of Bordeaux wine, fresh lobster, and even live seafood transported halfway through a journey. As Konstantin Pulikovsky once remarked, “It was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine.”
2. A Security Fortress on Rails
The sluggish speed of the train is also contributed to by its armour and elaborate security drill that exists around it. Kim Jong Il’s trips included two other trains, one leading ahead of time to clear the tracks, another behind with security officials. The carriages are fitted with satellite phones, conference rooms, and even garages for armoured limousines. Such a configuration turns the train into a rolling command centre where leadership can be unbroken and secluded much more than would be possible in a plane.
3. A Political Tradition in the Family
Kim’s use of the train connects him most directly with his father and grandfather, both of whom employed rail travel as an autonomous platform. Kim Il Sung initiated the practice, employing his personal train for journeys to Vietnam and Eastern Europe. Kim Jong Il, notoriously fearful of air travel, perished on his train in 2011. In Kim Jong Un’s case, the perpetuation of this form of transportation strengthens the image of uninterrupted dynastic rule.
4. When the Leader Flies
While his father never flew, Kim does so occasionally. His official aeroplane, the Soviet-built IL-62 named “Chammae-1” after the national bird, has a capacity of around 200 passengers and a reported range of 9,200 kilometres. He was the first North Korean leader since 1986 to travel overseas by air when in 2018, he flew to Dalian to see Xi Jinping. For his inaugural summit with Donald Trump in Singapore, he used a Chinese aeroplane, allegedly due to his own being deemed unsafe.
5. Luxury Cars as Moving Statements
Kim’s ground transportation is also carefully selected for effect. He has been spotted in a Mercedes-Maybach S600 Pullman Guard, a Maybach S62, and most recently in 2024 in a Russian-made Aurus Senat as a present from Vladimir Putin. These cars tend to arrive with him inside special train carriages that can be deployed on short notice. Contrary to United Nations sanctions prohibiting luxury items, Mercedes-Benz limousines have consistently been spotted in North Korea, which led to investigations into how they manage to circumvent embargoes.
6. The White Horse and the Paektu Bloodline
One of the most dramatic of Kim’s travel modes is the white horse. State news media has featured him astride a white horse on the snow-covered slopes of Mt. Paektu, which is a revered place in Korean legend, in photos meant to evoke his father, Kim Il Sung. The horse bridges the family to the chollima, a mythical winged horse that represents swiftness and independence. In 2019, following the failure of the Hanoi summit, Kim rode horseback twice up Paektu, a clear message of strength and defiance.
7. Propaganda in Motion
Each means of transportation Kim uses is fraught with political symbolism. The armoured train conveys stability and convention; the jet, newness and access; the limousines, prosperity and disobedience of sanctions; the white horse, revolutionary purity and mythic legitimacy. As Korea University’s Nam Sung-wook pointed out, “This is the first time North Korea’s leaders, China’s leaders and Russia’s leaders are gathering in the same location (in 66 years). That makes the trip more delicate, and the show component more significant.”
8. The Optics of Control
Even the route itself is important. Overland travel within China keeps Beijing focused on the journey itself, quietly affirming North Korea’s strategic relevance. Steering clear of airports also avoids uncomfortable comparisons between Pyongyang’s old planes and other countries’ shiny fleets. As Nam noted, “Arriving at a modern airport like Beijing Capital alongside sleek Chinese jets would emphasize the technological gap and that would be humiliating for Pyongyang.”
Kim Jong Un’s travel style is more than an idiosyncrasy it is a calculated act of statecraft. Every train ride, every flight, every limousine motorcade, every horseback climb is choreographed to make a point, both to his own citizens and the observing world.
