NEW YORK -- In a vast and elaborate complex on the edge of the North Korean capital, they sit frozen in time: two luxurious passenger railcars designed specifically for two supreme leaders -- father and son, the predecessors of the man who is now in the middle of his own unusual railway diplomacy in Russia.
When it comes to North Korea's dynastic dictators, the tradition of train travel -- and, some have said, the insistence upon it -- extends across the generations. That's in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Un's father's and grandfather's railcars -- and, not incidentally, the leaders' preserved and displayed remains -- are enshrined.
The prominent place that the elder two Kims' highly secure railcars occupy in the shrine to their leadership hints at the central role of train travel among North Korean leaders, who have used trains for travel domestically and sometimes abroad since the early days of the state.
North Korea was established when the Korean peninsula was split after a 1950-53 war.
Outsiders rarely see this sliver of North Korea -- the tomb of the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, and his son Kim Jong Il, who ruled from 1948 to 1994 and from 1994 to 2011 respectively. Those who do visit must approach using an elaborate, tightly controlled network of moving walkways that traverse hallways containing hundreds of in-action photos of the two late leaders.
Photographs aren't allowed. Speaking is barely allowed. The place is kept at about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, presumably because of the presence of the two leaders' remains. Two large, dimly lit and decidedly chilly chambers contain the bodies of the elder two Kims. Visitors must pass through a security portal that blasts them with dozens of tiny gusts of air to ensure that dust isn't carried into the inner sanctum.
Visitors are first taken to see the bodies, each in a translucent sarcophagus, then are ushered into nearby rooms containing the railcars. The Associated Press was permitted multiple visits during the mid-2010s, and details from two of those visits are reconstructed here from memory.
During those visits, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il's green railcar -- sealed in glass and viewed from a walkway -- featured the trappings of a well-appointed but suddenly abandoned home office. There was a comfortable couch, an early MacBook (or possibly a MacBook knockoff; you couldn't get close enough to be certain) and some documents left meticulously "strewn" about. A ceramic mug, presumably implying the presence of tea, sat alongside. It felt as if he might be right back to finish some paperwork; according to official North Korean accounts, he died in his railcar.
The railcar used by his father, North Korea founder and "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung, felt more like a period piece and contained items that harked back to the 1960s and 1970s. Though anchored by an enormous desk, it was somewhat more spare than his son's -- perhaps an illustration of the fact that he was originally a revolutionary, and part of his founding myth was as a fighter who endured under austere conditions.
Nearby, elaborate maps with little pinpoint lights depicted different destinations and stops, both within North Korea and outside it. Both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il traveled frequently by train -- the latter reportedly because he was afraid of flying.
Taken together, the railcars and maps show the deep connection that the two elder Kims had with rail travel -- and help explain why, whether it be for security, comfort or personal preference, Kim Jong Un follows the path of his predecessors.
On one of those visits to the mausoleum and shrine in the mid-2010s, a North Korean accompanying visiting AP journalists to the Kim mausoleum and railcar displays at Kumsusan broke the silence with a whisper. "They will be here forever," he said emphatically. He was talking not about the remains, but the railcars. The point, though, was exactly the same.
FILE - Two North Korean schoolchildren bow and pay respects to their late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il whose bodies lie embalmed in the mausoleum, the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 25, 2013. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed by the Korea News Service, the body of late North Korean President Kim Il Sung is displayed at Kumsusan Assembly Hall (currently called Kumsusan Memorial Palace) in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July, 1994. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo released on Dec. 20, 2011 by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, the body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is laid in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo taken and provided by the Press Office of the Primorsky Krai Region Administration, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, center, steps down from his train after crossing the border to Russia at Khasan, about 127 kilometers (79 miles) south of Vladivostok, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. Kim rolled into Russia on an armored train to see President Vladimir Putin. (Press Office of the Primorsky Krai Region Administration via AP, File)
FILE - A train believed to be carrying then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il moves past Dongjingcheng, Heilongjiang province, China, on Aug. 30, 2010. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from a train in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 10, 2023, as he leaves for Russia. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
FILE - North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il, right, and Konstantin Pulikovsky, the Russian President's representative in the Far East, center, look at a photo of Larisa Denezhko, left, greeting his father and predecessor, Kim Il Sung, during a visit to the Soviet Union 13 years ago, after he crossed the Russian-North Korean border, south of Vladivostok, on July 26, 2001. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (AP Photo/Igor Kochetkov, File)
FILE - Then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il waves out of a window of his armored train at the Russian border railway station of Khasan, Russia, on Aug. 20, 2002. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (AP Photo/Igor Kochetkov, File)
FILE - In this photo from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, distributed by Korea News Service, leader Kim Il Sung, right, and Kim Jong Il have a conversation in a special train before an unofficial visit to China, in November 1989. North Koreas Kim Jong Un's train journey to Russia has a storified history. The tradition of train travel extends across the generations. Thats in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Uns fathers and grandfathers train cars, and the leaders preserved and displayed remains, are enshrined. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP Images, File)