HONG KONG — A train, nearly as mysterious as its principal passenger, pulled into Beijing’s central train station Monday night, fueling speculation that Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, had arrived in the capital for secret talks with his Chinese counterpart. The train spotted in Beijing — 21 cars painted drab green, their windows tinted to obscure the identities of those on board — bore the hallmarks of the bulletproof private transports preferred by the mistrustful leaders of North Korea. Both Mr. Kim’s father and grandfather, the country’s former leaders, traveled in similar style on rare foreign trips, stoking decades of intrigue and interest about the trains. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyThere are believed to be at least 90 high-security carriages at the leader’s disposal, according to a 2009 South Korea news report that relied on classified information. According to the report, written during the era of Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, three trains operate each time the leader travels: an advance security train, the leader’s train and a third carrying additional bodyguards and supplies.

Source: New York Times March 27, 2018 10:15 UTC