North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un has arrived in Russia ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin where both leaders could agree on a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Kim spent 20 hours travelling 1,180km (733 miles) on the slow-moving green-and-yellow train, according to South Korean reports.
The train’s heavy armoured protection makes it rattle at a speed of about 50km/h (31mph) which is much slower than most modern trains.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim boarded his personal train on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by unspecified members of the country’s ruling party, government and military.
South Korea’s military said the train crossed into Russia earlier today military sources said in a briefing, without elaborating on how the military obtained the information.
Kim and Putin would meet in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Mr Putin arrived on Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Mr Putin’s first meeting with Mr Kim was held in 2019 in the city that is about 425 miles (680 kilometres) north of Pyongyang.
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying the two leaders would meet after the Vladivostok forum, but the reports did not specify when or where.
Kim Jong Un is making his first foreign trip since the Covid-19 pandemic during which North Korea tightly enforced border controls for more than three years.
Kim’s delegation likely includes his foreign minister, Choe Sun Hui, and his top two military officials – Korean People’s Army Marshals Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon.
Others include Pak Thae Song, chairman of North Korea’s space science and technology committee, and Navy Admiral Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines.
Kim Jong Un is also bringing Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies who had accompanied the leader on his recent tours to factories producing artillery shells and missiles, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which analysed the North Korean
photos.