Analysis | Questions mount over North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s ability to fly abroad as he steps onto world stage
North Korea’s leader has only taken one international trip, and that was to Beijing on a train. He may not have an aircraft capable of flying non-stop over long distances
With a million-man army, a bevy of intercontinental ballistic missiles and a growing nuclear arsenal, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has sought to project the image of a powerful leader who can face off against US President Donald Trump.
Yet as he prepares for a possible summit with Trump next month, it’s not clear that Kim possesses another piece of crucial hardware for the aspiring global negotiator – an aeroplane that could reliably fly him across the Pacific Ocean, or to Europe, without stopping.
“We used to make fun of what they have – it’s old stuff,” said Sue Mi Terry, who served as a senior CIA analyst on Korean issues during the George W. Bush administration.
“We would joke about their old Soviet planes.”
Most public speculation over the undecided summit location has focused on the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea, where South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet Kim this month.
Others have pointed to nearby China or Russia. But some analysts have suggested Trump would favour a grander setting in the United States or another country outside the region – such as Singapore, Switzerland or Sweden, which acts as the “protecting power” for the United States in Pyongyang.
