Pyongyang~Hasan~Khabarovsk~Amurju
The Vostochny Cosmodrome, a likely venue for the summit between North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, is located at least 2,300 km away from Pyongyang by rail.
This cosmodrome is near Tsiolkovsky City in Amur Oblast, Russian Far East, and is about 1,000 km north of Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, which was initially reported as the destination.
On the afternoon of the 12th, the special train "Taeyang-ho" carrying Chairman Kim changed direction northward near Ussuriysk. To reach Vladivostok, the train would have to turn south, but it headed in the exact opposite direction. Attention was focused on where Kim’s final destination would be.
The final destination of the Taeyang-ho became clear a few hours later. President Putin announced plans to visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome during the main session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok that day. Japan’s Kyodo News, citing Russian government sources, reported that the summit would be held at the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
The Taeyang-ho, which departed Pyongyang on the afternoon of the 10th, passed through Hassan Station in Russia on the morning of the 12th. The distance from Pyongyang to Hassan Station is about 1,000 km, taking roughly a day and a half. The train then passed Ussuriysk and headed north to Khabarovsk. From Khabarovsk, it is expected to head northwest along the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) toward Amur Oblast. The straight-line distance from Hassan Station to the Vostochny Cosmodrome is about 1,000 km. The straight-line distances for the segments Hassan?Khabarovsk and Khabarovsk?Vostochny Cosmodrome are approximately 750 km and 600 km, respectively.
Due to North Korea’s poor railway conditions and the weight of the armored system, Chairman Kim’s special train reportedly travels at about 50?60 km/h within North Korea. This speed is even slower than the now-defunct "Pigeon" train, which had a maximum speed of 70 km/h.
Considering that Chairman Kim and President Putin plan to hold the summit and a dinner consecutively, the train is expected to arrive at a station near the Vostochny Cosmodrome by the morning of the 13th. It means traveling by train for a full three days to meet Putin.
Chairman Kim also traveled by train for 60 hours when he went to Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019 for the second North Korea?U.S. summit with then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
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