A recent statement from the Kremlin revealed that Kim Jong Eun’s attendance at Russia’s celebrations in May marking the Soviet victory over Germany in WWII has been confirmed, prompting many to engage in speculation about what type of transportation he will be using if he does follow through with the trip.
The young leader’s father, Kim Jong Il, often referred to as a
βsecluded leaderβ and well-known to have harbored a rather debilitating fear of flying, opted for trains as his primary mode of transportation for trips abroad. Conversely, his son holds an unusually strong interest in airplanes,
evidence of which is frequently publicized in North Korean media, most recently
in the form of a KCTV documentary released on December 30th touting his “love of planes,” in which Kim takes over the controls to fly the aircraft, albeit with substantial help from
the copilot.
βAlthough flying is difficult and dangerous, someday I
hope to fly the blue skies of my homeland with the servicemen in the Air Force,β Kim stated in the film. βI must try it to experience the
anxiety that commanding officers and their families must feel when they fly
these aircrafts,” to portray himself as more benevolent leader.
In addition, a Rodong Sinmun report from April 2014 covered Kimβs journey in an Air Koyro passenger plane to Samjiyeon Airport in Yangkang Province; he is also known to have flown in a light aircraft to Gangwon Province’s Wonsan in the past.
Kim Jong Eunβs passion in aircrafts can even be found within the realm of his onsite military visits: of the 38 inspections ordered by Kim Jong Eun from January 2014 to the present, 21 of them related to the Air Force.
Some speculate the young leaderβs fondness
for jets to stem from the fact that his wifeβs father was a pilot. One
South Korean news source reported rumors circulating among North Korean residents that Kim Jong
Eun ordered the construction of Terminal 2 at Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport, to which he made an onsite visit last November to oversee the endeavor aimed at βkeeping up with the demands of this modern ageβ and βpreserving ethnic identity and the character of the nation,” mostly because his
wifeβs father is a worker there.
Moreover, two new events related to
airplanes and the Air Force were introduced last year: βNorth Korean Moranbong Band
Concert for Airpersons of KPA [April 20th]β and the βCombat
Flight Contest among Air Commanding Officers of the Air and Anti-Air Force of
the KPAβ [May 10th]. In November, as a move to emulate his
grandfather, a consistent theme throughout his time at the helm of power, Kim Jong Eun even played photographer,
snapping images of the countryβs first two female
fighter jet pilots.
Word among many defector circles mostly keeps in line with theories that his fascination with aircrafts is either a lifelong hobby or partially influenced by his wife’s father, but some have predicted it contains a broader meaning, speculating that “Kim
Jong Eun is paying extra attention to the North’s Air Force because he feels uneasy
about the fact that it is relatively weak in comparison to the Southβs.”
One defector, formerly a servicemen with North Korea’s Air Force, said, βItβs not shocking to see Kim Jong Eunβs βaircraft obsessionβ
being publicized in the Rodong Sinmun; after all, one of its main functions is to track
and report the movements of the supreme leader,β adding that the probability is
high for Kim Jong Eun to fly to Russia in favor of taking a lengthy train ride
that would eat up exorbitantly more time.
βWhile his father, Kim Jong Il, was a secluded leader, it’s likely that Kim Jong Eun is showing a lot of
interest in aircrafts and will fly to Russia to convey an open-minded image to both residents in the North as well as the international community,” he asserted.
