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North Korea: Kim Jong-il and his 19 private train stations

Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader known for shunning air travel has six luxurious private trains and 19 stations for his exclusive use, despite eight million of the country's people facing starvation.

The trains are equipped with conference rooms, bedrooms and high-tech communication facilities, intelligence sources have said.

There are also 19 stations across North Korea exclusively for Kim's trains, which have a total of 90 carriages Kim uses the trains when he makes inspection visits to local army units and factories or travels abroad.

Analysis by South Korean and US intelligence authorities was obtained by US spy satellites and U-2 reconnaissance planes and the testimonies of North Korean defectors, the South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

The traveling comforts of North Korea's ailing Stalinist dictator come as a UN report estimated that at least 8m people are facing dire food shortages as a result of the militaristic regime's "callous" disregard for ordinary citizens.

The train is equipped with armour and has conference rooms, reception halls, bedrooms, wall-mounted TVs and modern communications equipment like satellite phones, enabling the leader to get debriefed on major issues and issue orders while traveling.

To protect against terror attacks or assassination attempts, Kim's train also travels with two other trains with the first one running ahead of his to check the safety of railway lines while the second one carries security agents and follows behind, the paper said.

The paper quoted an unidentified source as saying security measures on Kim's trains – which travel at 37mph - were stepped up in 2004 following an explosion on a train that killed about 160 people and injured an estimated 1,300 others.

The blast was believed to have been an accident caused by the train laden with oil and chemicals hitting power lines, but it occurred hours after Kim reportedly passed through the station on his way home from a three-day visit to China, sparking speculation it might have been an assassination attempt.

The reclusive Kim rarely travels abroad and only under tight security, avoiding air travel in favor of trains. He last visited China in 2006.

Last month, Chinese President Hu Jintao invited Kim to travel to China, according to Pyongyang's state media. It's not clear when or even if the 67-year-old Kim who reportedly suffered a stroke last year would accept the invitation.