The odds are that he will fly his Russian made Il-62M aircraft to Singapore despite his plane having never flown that far before:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gets on his official airplane Chammae-1 after his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Dalian in China’s Liaoning Province on May 7-8. (Korea Central News Agency
How will North Korean leader Kim Jong-un travel the 4,700km to Singapore, where the North Korea-US summit will be taking place on June 12? Since a train journey from North Korea to Singapore is out of the question, attention is focusing on Kim’s official airplane, Chammae-1 (meaning goshawk, North Korea’s national bird).On May 7, Kim flew Chammae-1 to Dalian in China’s Liaoning Province to hold his second summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Pyongyang and Dalian are about 360km apart in a direct line. Chammae-1, a souped-up IL-62M of Soviet manufacture, is equipped with four engines, which gives it a maximum flight distance of 9,000-10,000km. These specifications make it fully capable of reaching Singapore, which is about 4,700km away from Pyongyang.But safety concerns have also been raised since Kim’s jet is old and has never attempted a long flight before. The IL-62M, an upgraded version of the IL-62 model that was developed in 1967, entered production in 1975 and was discontinued in 1995.“[Chammae-1] is presumed to have been manufactured in 1985, and provided that it’s in good repair, it will have no problem flying to Singapore. But since it has no experience with long-distance flight and may not have been serviced properly, it probably presents a dilemma [for North Korea],” said a source in the South Korean government.
In Nov. 2014, Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), was reportedly on a flight to Russia as a special envoy for Kim Jong-un when a problem with his aircraft forced him to return to Pyongyang and restart his journey. The aircraft that Choe and his party were on was apparently also an IL-62. This is leading to speculation that Kim may have a stopover in China or borrow a large charter plane from China. [Hankyoreh]
You can read more at the link, but I seriously doubt Kim Jong-un would take a charter plane from China to Singapore. It would be too embarrassing in my opinion for him to show up in Singapore not flying in a state sponsored aircraft.
UPDATE: US says moving ahead with N. Korea summit prep, despite Pyongyang warning
EARLIER: North Korea on Wednesday called into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported.
Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises between the US and the South, Seoul said.
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.
So, enter the Spin Doctors. North Korea (and every Lefty ever) will blame it on Trump; long time North Korea watchers say this is the Standard Move 22B from the Standard Playbook.
Me? I think Fatty is afraid his plane won’t make it, and needs to stall for time.
a listener
5 years ago
MTB Rider, thats why you dont celebrate your achievements before your chickens are hatched. No one forced our President to praise himself before the summit. Hopefully it will work out.
The way I see it, perhaps that short hop to Dalian was a test run. I am sure that President Xi had his maintenance guys all over that plane correcting any flaws in upkeep that may have been neglected by the nK Air Force or CAA over the years. It could also be likely that China will lend Kim a plane and just have it repainted with nK logos and secretly put a Chinese pilot at the controls.
J6Junkie
5 years ago
Pyongyang just wants more bribes and jet fuel for Dear Leader. That’s why they’re crying out now.
Observer
5 years ago
It will be interesting. IL-62’s have a terrible history of crashes and his must be one of the few still flying. Russia phased them out by 2008. They had a habit of blowing their low bypass engines and the placement of the engines near the tail had bad consequences. It would be the bravest thing he has done in a while if he flies that down to Sing. I thought I saw a pic of a different plane in Dalian. That looked like a converted cargo model plane. High wing Russian jet transport.
J6Junkie
5 years ago
I don’t think any of us will be sad to see him in the bottom of the Pacific.
Flyingsword
5 years ago
nK already causing trouble, saying agreement to stop aggressive acts includes joint training in South Korea. Who the f*ck didn’t see this coming, commie moon either the biggest chump in the world or complete complicit with nK.
And right on que:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/n-korea-casts-doubt-on-trump-summit-yonhap/ar-AAxjOft?ocid=ientp
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.
So, enter the Spin Doctors. North Korea (and every Lefty ever) will blame it on Trump; long time North Korea watchers say this is the Standard Move 22B from the Standard Playbook.
Me? I think Fatty is afraid his plane won’t make it, and needs to stall for time.
MTB Rider, thats why you dont celebrate your achievements before your chickens are hatched. No one forced our President to praise himself before the summit. Hopefully it will work out.
The way I see it, perhaps that short hop to Dalian was a test run. I am sure that President Xi had his maintenance guys all over that plane correcting any flaws in upkeep that may have been neglected by the nK Air Force or CAA over the years. It could also be likely that China will lend Kim a plane and just have it repainted with nK logos and secretly put a Chinese pilot at the controls.
Pyongyang just wants more bribes and jet fuel for Dear Leader. That’s why they’re crying out now.
It will be interesting. IL-62’s have a terrible history of crashes and his must be one of the few still flying. Russia phased them out by 2008. They had a habit of blowing their low bypass engines and the placement of the engines near the tail had bad consequences. It would be the bravest thing he has done in a while if he flies that down to Sing. I thought I saw a pic of a different plane in Dalian. That looked like a converted cargo model plane. High wing Russian jet transport.
I don’t think any of us will be sad to see him in the bottom of the Pacific.
nK already causing trouble, saying agreement to stop aggressive acts includes joint training in South Korea. Who the f*ck didn’t see this coming, commie moon either the biggest chump in the world or complete complicit with nK.