Kim Jong-un appears to have chosen his favoured means of transportation for his first journey outside North Korea in nearly four years – a lavishly adorned, heavily fortified and slow-moving train. Mr Kim reached Russia on Tuesday after boarding the train on Sunday. He was accompanied by top arms industry and military officials besides North Korea’s foreign minister. The green-coloured and armoured train carrying Mr Kim reached Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s far east that is about 127km south of Vladivostok, on Monday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, citing an unnamed Russian official source. Vladimir Putin and Mr Kim are expected to discuss arms shipments that could aid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, in a regional summit taking place in Vladivostok. The trip has happened as Russia leans closer to the east Asian country even though Washington has warned against an arms deal. Few have travelled in the North Korean leader’s private train besides the isolated country’s political elite, but pictures posted in state media depict a train full of luxuries. The train cars are painted military green on the outside and have a yellow streak across the body. The interiors are glossy white, with long tables for meetings. Other pictures also show red leather armchairs. The train has conference rooms, audience chambers and bedrooms, with satellite phones and flat-screen televisions installed for briefings. “It was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine,” Russian official Konstantin Pulikovsky had recounted, while on a trip across Russia’s far east with Kim Jong Il in a book called Orient Express, the Washington Post had reported. The Russian official had said there were cases of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines and live lobsters. The travellers were reportedly entertained by live singers who were introduced as “lady conductors”. The train has a total of 90 rail cars, with some designed to carry vehicles as well. Reports say each carriage is bulletproof, making the train thousands of pounds heavier. The train is, hence, slow. The reduced speed of the train is frequently attributed to its substantial weight – a consequence of the additional armour incorporated into the train’s structure. Georgy Toloraya, another Russian diplomat who travelled with Kim Jong Il in 2001, said, during an examination of the train by Russian technicians, they discovered armoured sheets positioned beneath two primary railcars employed by the North Korean leader for both residential and official functions. The technicians reportedly also discovered that the railcars originated from the Soviet Union, but had undergone extensive modifications at some later date. According to a report by South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, approximately 100 security agents are dispatched in advance to railway stations to conduct security sweeps for potential threats. Power is deliberately shut off at these stations to prevent other trains from departing. The report from 2009 also noted the presence of a substantial logistical support contingent, which includes Soviet-made Il-76 air force transport planes and Mi-17 helicopters. Read More North Korea’s Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia ahead of meeting with Putin – report Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia in ‘absolute secrecy’ ahead of weapons talk with Putin Kim Jong-un heading for Russia by train ahead of weapons talks with Putin The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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A top Ukrainian official said its troops have established a beachhead on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River near Kherson, an important advance in bridging one of Russia's most significant strategic barriers in the war. Andriy Yermak, head of the president's office, provided no details but confirmed the development that has been widely discussed in military forums over the past month. “Against all odds, Ukraine’s defense forces have gained a foothold on the left bank of the Dnieper,” Yermak told the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington think tank, in a speech Monday. Ever since Russian forces left the city of Kherson and the territory around it in November 2022, the only area they controlled on the west bank of the Dnieper, the river became a natural dividing line along the southern battlefront, preventing Ukrainian troops from advancing further into the Kherson region and towards Russian-annexed Crimea. The barrier also allowed Russia to concentrate more troops in the heavily mined and fortified Zaporizhzhia region and eastern Ukraine. Crossing the Dnieper could allow Ukraine to outflank Russia without having to break through the heavily mined and fortified front line in the Zaporizhzhia region. It would also provide the most direct land route to Crimea, where Armiansk, one of the two gateways to the peninsula, lies about 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the south without any significant fortifications in the way. Since the summer, Ukrainian forces have crossed the Dnieper in small groups to create a foothold near the Kherson bridge and more recently sought to expand their presence in nearby villages on the east bank, including Krynky. The Institute for the Study of War in Washington said Yermak's comments confirm its own assessments over the past month that Ukraine was conducting larger-than-usual ground operations on the eastern bank of the river and appeared to be holding its positions and supplying troops in the Russian-controlled Kherson region. Satellite imagery from Monday showed forces advancing on Krynky, one of the areas on the eastern bank of the Dnieper about 22 miles (35 kilometers) northeast of the city of Kherson, the ISW said. Russian military bloggers have reported intense fighting near Krynky. The Moscow-appointed governor for the Russia-occupied part of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said Ukrainian forces lost up to two battalions crossing the Dnieper and trying to maintain their foothold on the left bank. On his Telegram channel, he claimed that Ukrainian forces holed up in Krynky were facing a “fiery hell” of intense bombardment and were being destroyed “on a large scale.” He said that the Russian soldiers were surprised “to what extent the Ukrainian command doesn’t care about personnel lives, sending dozens and hundreds to their death.” The Ukrainian forces have long established positions in several areas on the eastern bank of the Dnieper and sought to expand them, using boats to ferry supplies. Ukraine lost control over almost the entire Kherson region, including the city of Kherson, in March 2022, right after the full-scale invasion started. Russian troops advanced from the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, facing almost no resistance even though the Ukraine border was supposed to be heavily guarded. Read More Russian woman goes on trial in a cafe bombing that killed a prominent military blogger European Commission lowers growth outlook and says economy has lost momentum during a difficult year UK inflation falls sharply to 4.6%, lowest level in 2 years China and the US pledge to step up climate efforts ahead of Biden-Xi summit and UN meeting ASEAN defense chiefs call for the fighting in Gaza to cease, but they struggle to address Myanmar Ukraine declares major breakthrough in southern counteroffensive ‘against all odds’

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