TBS-JNN
- Kim Jong Un was spotted smoking an early-morning cigarette during a break from his 2,000-mile train journey to meet Donald Trump in Vietnam.
- Japanese TV station TBS-FNN filmed North Korea’s leader smoking at Nanning train station, China, just before dawn on Tuesday.
- He’s seen smoking while talking to party official Hyon Song Wol. He is offered a crystal ashtray by his sister Kim Yo Jong.
- Kim arrived in Hanoi later that day for major talks with Trump. The journey took some 70 hours.
- Kim is a longtime smoker, often seen with a cigarette in hand on state TV, but has started an anti-smoking campaign in North Korea.
Covert TV coverage caught Kim Jong Un smoking an early-morning cigarette in rural China while taking a break from his epic train journey to a summit with Donald Trump in Vietnam.
The North Korean leader arrived there on Tuesday, ending a 2,000-mile, 2.5-day, train odyssey from Pyongyang to Dong Dang station.
Early on Tuesday morning, Japanese TV station TBS-JNN broadcast footage of Kim pacing around Nanning train station in southern China, lighting a cigarette with a match, and chatting to a political aide while smoking.
The Associated Press identified the aide as Hyon Song Wol. Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong is then seen on video holding out a crystal ashtray for him.
The map below shows Nanning on a map. Based on Kim’s likely route, the stop was in the closing hours of his train journey.
Google Maps
The reason Kim chose take a train to his second summit with Trump is unclear.
TBS-FNN
One analyst said it was likely to save face, because Kim didn’t want to ask China to lend him a plane. Kim borrowed a Chinese plane for the 2018 summit with Trump in Singapore, which attracted commentary on his reliance on Beijing.
Another explanation was that the journey through China’s eastern regions is meant to signify North Korea’s close relationship with China.
Read more: Take a tour of the closest Chinese city to North Korea — the nearest thing to the outside world most North Koreans will ever see
TBS-JNN
Kim is a heavy smoker, and is often seen on state TV with a cigarette in hand, despite pushing an anti-smoking campaign in North Korea, the Associated Press reported.
Kim reportedly abstained from nicotine while meeting South Korean leader Moon Jae-in April 2017 out of respect for the South Korean president.
orea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters
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See Also:
- Luxury hotels, a private dinner, and a possible trip to an Instagram beauty spot: Here’s how Trump’s second summit with Kim Jong Un is scheduled to go down
- A hapless aide to Kim Jong Un appeared to botch his red-carpet entrance in Vietnam
- A Vietnamese barbershop near Trump and Kim Jong Un’s next summit is offering free Trump- and Kim-style haircuts
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Bill Bostock)