If Kim Jong Un actually is or was in China, as speculated, the North Korean leader no doubt pulled into Beijing aboard a mystery train that can best be described as a bulletproof slow-boat to China.
The arrival of the high security train with tinted windows at Beijing’s central train station on Monday night fueled speculation that Kim was visiting the Chinese capital to engage in secret talks with his South Korean counterpart, The New York Times reported.
An official with deep knowledge of North Korea told CNN on Tuesday there was a “strong possibility” that Kim had arrived in Beijing. And while a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry couldn’t confirm it, the network reported seeing a motorcade arriving at Beijing Station on Tuesday afternoon.
No one could say whether the special occupant was coming or going.
The drab green 21-car train, which may have been transporting Kim Jong-Un, resembled the train his father Kim Jong Il rode to China in 2011, USA Today reported.
While who its passenger was remained a mystery, the Times gathered data from intelligence reports, news media footage and officials’ recollections to have a good idea what the train itself was like.
Kim reportedly has at least 90 high-security carriages at his disposal and, each time he travels, there are three trains in operation: an advance security train, the leader’s train and a third train to transport bodyguards and other personnel.
Reportedly there also is an envelope of other security moving on the ground and in the air as the trains travel between special stations dotting the country and built specially for the dear leader.
A 2009 report by the South Korea News, written during Kim Jon II’s era, noted that the train, which traveled at an average speed of 60 kilometers per hour, featured flat screen TVs, conference rooms and bedrooms.
Now, because of its heavy armor, the train’s top speed is said to be 37 miles per hour.
It was widely reported that Kim Jon II indulged in luxuries while he traveled, stocking his train with champagne, wine and a bevy of women, said Russian envoy, Konstantin Pulikovsky, who traveled with the former leader, according to The Independent.
And while it isn’t known whether Kim Jong Un has similar tastes, at least when it comes to appetite he has a penchant for Swiss cheese, Cristal Champagne and Hennessy cognac, the Times noted.