北TV, 김정은 하노이 출발영상 공개... 수행단 누구? 열차 선택 이유는?<br /><br />So where is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un now?<br />We're hearing that he's about halfway through a grueling 60-hour-long train ride to Hanoi,.... currently crossing eastern China.<br />And our Oh Jung-hee has more on who's travelling with Kim... and why he chose to take the train instead of flying there. <br />North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanged greetings with senior regime officials before boarding his heavily-fortified train.<br />Pyeongyang's state media revealed footage of Kim leaving for Vietnam on Sunday afternoon.<br />Heading to Hanoi with Kim Jong-un are eight of the regime's key officials,... including Kim Yong-chol and Choe Son-hui, who've been deeply involved in the nuclear negotiations with the U.S.<br />Kim Jong-un's sister and close aide, Kim Yo-jong,... and the North's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho are also taking the trip to Vietnam. <br />Noteworthy additions to the delegation are Kim Phyong-hae and O Su-yong, who're respectively in charge of personnel management and industrial affairs.<br />O is known as the North's core 'economy' figure, being the regime's former minister of electronics and vice minister of metals and machine building. <br />Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju is not part of the entourage, implying that first lady diplomacy won't happen at the summit.<br />Traveling from Pyeongyang to Hanoi by train is a tough journey for Kim Jong-un as it takes about 60 hours.<br />Hanoi is thousands of kilometers away from Pyeongyang, but it is technically close enough for Kim's personal jet Chammae-1 to fly to.<br />But it seems Kim decided to take the train for safety reasons.<br /><br />"While the regime has used the Chammae-1 several times, its safety is not guaranteed because it's old and small. North Korea can't borrow a Chinese plane again because of their national pride."<br />Some watchers point out that Kim Jong-un is trying to follow in his grandfather's footsteps.<br />The regime's founder Kim Il-sung took a train when he visited Vietnam in 1958.<br />And besides these reasons, watchers say Kim Jong-un can draw global attention to his journey to Hanoi... and add dramatic effect to his diplomacy with the United States.<br />Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
