Speculations abound on how Kim Jong-un will travel to Hanoi for 2nd NK-US summit

Posted on : 2019-02-22 18:38 KST Modified on : 2019-02-22 18:38 KST
Possibility of train journey receives renewed attention
How will Kim Jong-un travel to Hanoi?
How will Kim Jong-un travel to Hanoi?

Mixed predictions on how North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will travel to Hanoi for an upcoming North Korea-US summit are emerging amid speculation that he may make the trip by train. Observers are also predicting he could travel both by airplane and train as former leader Kim Il-sung did when he visited Hanoi in 1958.

When US President Donald Trump first announced on Feb. 8 that the summit would be taking place in Hanoi, most observers predicted Kim Jong-un would use the state jet Chammae-1. With a flight range of 10,000km, the Chammae-1 could make the 2,760km trip from Pyongyang to Hanoi in four to five hours.

But a train journey by Kim rapidly surfaced as a possibility with reports that State Affairs Commission Chief Secretary Ri Chang-son – who has been described as Kim’s “steward” – visited Dong Dang Station in the Vietnamese province of Lang Son on the Chinese border on Feb. 17 to examine safety and security conditions there. With Kim’s private train reaching speeds of 60km per hour the 4,000km journey from Pyongyang to Dong Dang Station would take nearly three days.

Technically, a train journey in which Kim travels through China to Vietnam would be feasible, as the railways between Pyongyang, Beijing, and Hanoi are connected on the same track. But many experts predicted it would be difficult in practical terms. First and foremost, the Chinese rail network would likely experience serious congestion while Kim’s private train is traveling. Within China, rail usage volumes rise sharply between February and early March due to the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) holiday.

“Chairman Kim is not going to want to inconvenience the people of China, and the Chinese government would not welcome that either,” said Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies.

A worker sweeps the entrance of Dong Dang train station where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to arrive
A worker sweeps the entrance of Dong Dang train station where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to arrive

Kim Il-sung traveled by both plane and train in 1958

The possibility of Kim traveling by train has drawn renewed attention to the course used by former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung for his journey from Pyongyang to Hanoi. In 1958, Kim Il-sung traveled from Pyongyang to Beijing by airplane before proceeding by train to Guangzhou and flying into Hanoi from there. Recreating his grandfather’s journey from 60 years ago could serve as a way for Kim Jong-un to show off North Korea’s friendly relations with China and Vietnam. Experts said Kim Chang-son may have hinted at such a route with his own journey to Vietnam on Feb. 19, when he traveled by way of Guangzhou rather than proceeding directly to Hanoi from his stopover in Beijing.

Further complicating predictions is the possibility that Kim Jong-un may visit China for a fifth bilateral summit en route to Vietnam. Following the North Korea-US summit on Feb. 27–28, Kim will reportedly follow a minimal itinerary for the time between the afternoon of Feb. 28 and his departure midday on Mar. 1, including a dinner and summit with the Vietnamese president and a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Meanwhile, China is embarking on its “Two Session” schedule, kicking off its biggest political event of the year with the Mar. 3 opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

“North Korea looks to be considering different scenarios,” said one official.

“We have no way of knowing whether a final decision has been made yet.”

By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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