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Train or tank? A look at Kim Jong-un's heavily armored mode of transport.

Published: 02 Sep. 2025, 10:30

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen waving from his private train during a visit to flood-affected areas in North Pyongan Province between Aug. 8 to Aug. 9 in 2024. A high-end Mercedes-Benz SUV, circled in red, is seen behind Kim inside the train. [YONHAP]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to make his multilateral diplomatic debut on Wednesday in China and has chosen to travel on his special train, the Taeyangho — a slow-running, heavier-than-average vehicle equipped with Kim's car and weapons to act as a "moving fortress."

The train is known to be a heavily armored vehicle equipped with bulletproofing and mortars. It reportedly travels at a slow pace of about 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour ) due to its weight and also the poor condition of North Korea’s rail infrastructure.

The most recent public appearance of Kim using the train was during visits to flood-affected areas in North Pyongan Province in July and August last year. At the time, he delivered a speech while standing at the fully opened doors of one carriage — effectively turning it into a stage — with a brand-new, high-end Mercedes-Benz SUV stationed just behind him.

Georgy Toloraya, a former Russian diplomat and director at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Center for Asian Strategy, wrote in a 2019 NK News commentary that one carriage of the North Korean leader’s train carries an armored Mercedes-Benz.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrives in Vietnam on Feb. 26, 2019, on a special train a day ahead of the U.S. summit. [YONHAP]

During last year’s flood site visit, Kim also convened an emergency expanded meeting of the eighth Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea from inside the train. Photos from the time revealed a long conference table and multiple telephones, suggesting the use of satellite communications on board.

Footage of the train interior shown in the 2022 Korean Central Television documentary “The People’s Father” (translated) featured desktop monitors and laptops, further hinting at its mobile command center capabilities.

Kim has visited China four times previously. He traveled by special train during his first visit in March 2018 and his fourth in January 2019. For the visits in May and June 2018, he used his private aircraft, the Chammae-1. However, since 2018, Kim has not publicly used the Chammae-1 for international travel.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]