North Korean Leader Bound for China on Armored Train

(MENAFN) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang on Monday aboard his specially armored train, heading to China to participate in a high-profile military parade, according to a Seoul-based news agency. This marks Kim’s first appearance on the multilateral diplomatic stage since assuming power.

The train’s route is set to include stops at Shenyang, Shanhaiguan, Tangshan, and Tianjin before arriving in Beijing. Covering approximately 1,300 kilometers (nearly 807 miles), the journey typically takes 20 to 24 hours.

Kim’s armored train is expected to cross the North Korea-China border overnight, with an anticipated arrival in Beijing the next day. On Wednesday, Kim will join Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from 26 other countries at the military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s conclusion—a key event China celebrates as its victory over Japan.

This occasion marks Kim’s first involvement in a multilateral diplomatic gathering since his rise to power in late 2011. Notably, his grandfather and North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il-sung, attended a similar military parade in Beijing in 1959.

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