According to Yonhap News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un departed Pyongyang by special train on the afternoon of the 1st to attend China’s 80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War Victory. He is expected to arrive in Beijing on the 2nd. North Korean state media KCNA released photos of Kim boarding the train to depart, and Kim’s special train had already entered Chinese territory on the morning of the 2nd.
KCNA noted that among Kim Jong-un’s entourage to China are several high-level party and government officials, including North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. The Rodong Sinmun also reported that Kim’s special train had entered China on the morning of the 2nd.
The train journey from Pyongyang to Beijing takes 20 to 24 hours, so Kim Jong-un’s departure on the 1st would ensure arrival in Beijing on the 2nd, the day before the commemoration event.
Kim Jong-un has visited China four times: in March 2018 and January 2019 by special train, and in May and June 2018 by his special aircraft “Chammae-1.” In recent years, Kim seems to have avoided using the plane, with some analysis suggesting “Chammae-1” has become too old.
Hotels in Dandong, the Chinese city on the border with North Korea, are not accepting bookings from foreigners, and some Dandong to Beijing trains on the 1st and 2nd have been suspended, believed to be related to Kim Jong-un’s visit to China.
This is Kim Jong-un’s first visit to China since 2019, and the first time in 66 years that a North Korean supreme leader is attending a Chinese military parade. It is also his first time participating in a large multilateral diplomatic event.