On the train towards denuclearization

The leader of North Korea Kim Jong -un went to meet with US President Donald Trump on his armored train. He left the Pyongyang railway station.

“At about 17:00 local time, Kim Jong -un went to Hanoi on his armored train. It is expected that the leader of the DPRK is expected all the way to the capital of Vietnam by rail through China, ” TASS told an anonymous source in diplomatic circles.

Asian media, citing their informed sources, previously wrote that the Kim’s train should arrive from Pyongyan to the Chinese Dantun station, then to Beijing, from there to go to the south of China, cross the border with Vietnam near the Lang Song station and after driving to Hanoi. The total length of the route from the capital of the DPRK to Vietnam is more than 4.5 thousand kilometers. At the same time, the average speed of a heavy armored train is not more than 100 km/h, so that the trip can take more than two days.

“The train will stop at the Vietnamese border, and the remaining 170 kilometers to Hanoi Kim will pass by car,” Reuters said with reference to an anonymous source.

Kim Jong -un, having chosen the train, continued the tradition of his ancestors, resemble Vedomosti.

“His father Kim Jong Ir did not really like to leave his homeland. In this regard, he looks more like his grandfather Kim Il Sen, who liked to be abroad. Kim Il Sung was in Vietnam twice - in 1958 and 1964, but crossed the border on Chinese aircraft, according to the archival notes of Chinese newspapers, ”the TaE EN Ho newspaper quoted, which was the DPRK ambassador to the UK, and in 2016 fled to South Korea.

Recall that the meeting of Trump and Kim Jong-un is scheduled for February 27-28. Negotiations will be held in Hanoi in a government guest house - the Tonkin Palace.

During the visit of US President Donald Trump, the security of the American leader will be provided by more than 200 representatives of the US secret service, the VNEXPRESS newspaper reports.

According to the publication, agents in Hanoi will be delivered by four aircraft from the US military base in Japan. Already last week, several Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft and a helicopter arrived at the International Airport of the Vietnamese capital. On board the aircraft were two cars for Trump, on which he would move in Vietnam. Among them is the limousine Cadillac One, which is also known as The Beast (from the English “monster”). He was already noticed on Hanoy's streets on Saturday, February 23.

Alexander Vorontsov, the factory of the Korea and Mongolia of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, speaking of the upcoming meeting, noted that she should take a pause in negotiations between countries.

“In the US-Sevan-Korean dialogue, which is developing quite actively this year, a certain pause arose. There is a hope that the second summit between Trump and Kim, if it takes place, can remove these contradictions to some extent and give a new impetus to the process of denuclearization and the process of normalizing relations between the United States and the DPRK, ”he said in an interview with NSN .

Earlier, the ex-director of the American CIA Center for the Korean Peninsula, Andrew Kim, said that the DPRK leader is ready to abandon nuclear weapons for his children. About this writes the Renhap agency.

So, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Kim Jong -un if he was really ready for denuclearization, and he answered in the affirmative, because he was a husband and father.

“I do not want my children to carry nuclear weapons with them in a bag to live their life,” the agency quoted the words of the North Korean leader.

At the same time, some experts warn that you should not expect a quick change in the DPRK course. It is assumed that Kim Jong -un will insist during a meeting with Trump to relieve the sanction from North Korea in exchange for minor concessions on his part. For example, he will offer to close the research nuclear center in Yonben, it is used to enrich uranium and plutonium. The center houses 390 objects associated with the development of nuclear weapons, however, it will take more time to dismantle them and checks than Trump will be at the presidential post.

The ex-diplomat of TaE Yu Kh compared the DPRK leader with an unscrupulous car dealer who is trying to sell the buyer not what he really needs.

“He will repaint a broken car so that it looks new and then sell it,” The Wall Street Journal quotes his words.

The former ambassador also recalled that Kim exiled, landed or executed from 50 to 70 people, dissatisfied with his course to normalize relations with the United States and South Korea, officially explaining this with an anti -corruption campaign. The newspaper reports that Kim Jong -un confiscates their foreign currency reserves, trying to replenish the budget against the background of international sanctions. The measure was effective - the treasury received several million dollars, the North Korea Strategy Center report said. Kim also removes many experienced diplomats from denuclearization negotiations due to suspicions of espionage, many of whom worked even with his father and grandfather. According to Reuters, he changes them to younger specialists.