Kim Jong-Il heads to Moscow in secrecy
August 23, 2011
Kim Jong-Il recently snuck into Russia aboard a train to discuss a possible natural gas pipeline deal. His journey to Moscow has been highly secretive, as Russian photographers have been banned from taking any pictures of the locomotive, according to the International Business Times.
That is far from the only security measure taken during the North Korean leader's visit. Residents who lived near the Bureya station were instructed to stay home when his train arrived, and were told they could not even look out their windows. Kim was transferred quickly from the armored train to an armored car.
Back in 2001, Kim took a three-week journey on a train to Moscow, and during the trip one of the train's windows was smashed. A concrete pillar was placed on the tracks ahead of the convoy, The Telegraph reports. This could explain the preemptively added security for Kim's current visit.
Reuters states that he will be meeting with Russian officials to talk about a pipeline that would run from Eastern Russia, through North Korea, to South Korea. If the deal goes through, it could mean good things for the North Korean economy. The construction alone is estimated to cost $1.66 million per kilometer of pipeline.
People can use international phone cars to place calls to Russia to talk about Kim's visit and the possible business deal between Russia and North Korea.