How Kim Jong Un's Bulletproof Train Compares to Putin's 'Ghost' Locomotive

In North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's first known trip outside the country since border closures imposed in January 2020 amid the COVID pandemic, he took a private, lavish, heavily armored train—a form of transportation that is widely regarded also to be his Russian counterpart's favorite.

State media showed Kim using a dark green train to travel from the North Korean capital Pyongyang into Russia, the same train he used in a previous trip to meet Putin in Russia in 2019.

Little information has been released about it, but the few photographs that have been published by state media paint a picture of luxury; a bulletproof train with rows of pink leather sofas, a carriage that's used as an office and meeting room, a karaoke room, and readily available cases fine French wine.

According to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, Kim's 21-carriage train, nicknamed the "Moving Fortress," has bulletproof windows and steel-plated walls and floors to protect against explosives, and even attack weapons and a helicopter "for escape in case of emergency."

However, it might struggle to match the amenities on offer to his Russian counterpart. Putin's personal train contains a gym, a bar and even a cosmetologist's office, according to investigative website Dossier Center, which studied documents from Russia's Federal Guard Service (FSO), Russian Railways and other government-related sources.

The Russian leader's train is also reported to contain a hammam (Turkish steam bath), dining areas and a cinema, and has equipment on board for life-saving emergencies, including a ventilator and defibrillator and an infusion unit that allows one to measure and inject the exact dosage of a drug for a patient.

Like Kim's train, one of Putin's carriages serves as an office, and is similarly equipped with modern equipment. Footage published as part of a documentary film titled The People's Parent in October 2022 showed the North Korean leader in his train's meeting room, which is decorated with blue draped curtains, a long, white table, and a large plant.

In terms of appearance, Putin's train, the Dossier Center notes, is almost indistinguishable from the outside from other Russian Railways trains. Its carriages are gray in color with a red stripe.

One trainspotter has described Putin's locomotive as a "ghost train", CNN reported.

"There is a ghost train on the railways of our country," the individual wrote alongside an image of what appears to be the Russian president's armored train on rutrain.com. "It is not in the timetables or in the Russian Railways systems."

Putin's train has 22 cars—one more than Kim's—in total, according to the Dossier Center's report.

Kim's locomotive, however, appears to be better equipped to protect against attacks.

Journalist Ilia Rozhdestvenskii, who wrote the report for the Dossier Center, previously told Newsweek that the armor on Putin's train does not provide protection against serious threats.

"It only guards against gunfire," Rozhdestvenskii said. "Furthermore, the special communication systems installed inside the train are hopelessly outdated."

She added, "In other words, all secrecy and security were sacrificed in order to accommodate amenities like a cosmetologist's office and a hammam for Putin."

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