Kim Jong-un may ride KTX train if he visits South

A South Korean train transporting dozens of South Korean officials runs on the rails leading to North Korea inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, on Nov. 30. AP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may ride South Korea's high-speed train if he visits Seoul, a Cheong Wa Dae official said, Wednesday.

President Moon Jae-in confirmed early this week that Kim's visit to Seoul could take place within this year.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said various scenarios and plans are currently being reviewed in preparation for Kim's visit.

“One thing I can tell you is there is a strong possibility that Kim will ride the KTX bullet train from Seoul to Busan during his stay in the South given his repeated desire to advance the North's outdated train infrastructure,” the official said.

But the official declined to confirm speculations that Kim will give a speech in the National Assembly or plans to visit Samsung Electronics' highly advanced memory chip fabrication facilities in Giheung and Hwaseong, on the outskirts of Seoul.

South Korean soldiers stand guard at the train tracks leading to North Korea inside the DMZ separating the two Koreas, in Paju, Nov. 30. A train carrying South Korean engineers and officials recently crossed the border into North Korea for a joint survey for reconnecting the two Koreas' rail networks. AFP-Yonhap

During Moon's September visit to Pyongyang, the President discussed how the two Koreas could be better connected via the KTX high-speed train.

“I'd be honestly worried if you come, it might be very embarrassing, the transportation is not good,” Kim Jong-un told Moon while Moon was in Pyongyang. Cheong Wa Dae confirmed the remarks.

The North's leader directly referred to the KTX and said they didn't have anything like that in North Korea. Political analysts in Seoul said Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong was impressed with the train's speed, modern factors and other relevant technologies when she used the train to travel to PyeongChang for the Winter Olympics.

Decades ago, South Korea initially built an early version of KTX trains partly in France and partly here as part of a technology transfer agreement, which was the basis for further domestic high-speed train development.

With better maintenance and steady modifications, today's KTX trains can cruise with a maximum scheduled speed of 305 kilometers per hour.

Recently, a train carrying South Korean engineers and officials crossed into the North to start a joint survey on reconnecting rail networks between the two Koreas.

“If Kim Jong-un takes the KTX, then that will show his shift in focus toward economic prosperity,” said Yang Moon-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

While it's required to get an exemption from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to push forward with actual railway restoration work and other economic projects, the President was hoping Kim's visit to Seoul, if it happens, will accelerate the North's denuclearization, with Moon using the visit as a condition to get more “economic carrots” from the international community, said political analysts.

Kim is grinding out top-down economic reform as the country, having secured nuclear power, is prepared to focus on economic development, said Agathe L'Homme, an analyst at the Economic Intelligence Unit.