The visits of two North Korean leaders to Russia have been immortalized with memorial plaques in the city of Novosibirsk, the West Siberian branch of Russian Railways announced Wednesday.
The plaques were put up on the wall of the Siberian city's train station to mark respective visits by the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in 1984 and 2001, in a ceremony attended by the North Korean ambassador to Russia.
“Our nations share not only the past, but the present as well,” the West Siberian railway's deputy head Alexander Gritsai was quoted as saying at the ceremony, citing as an example the ongoing project to link up the Trans-Korean and Trans-Siberian railways.
The ceremony was one of many events planned as part of the Year of Russian and North Korean Friendship, said Nikolai Afonasov, a representative of Russia's Foreign Ministry in Siberia, who attended the ceremony.
Kim Il Sung's favorite train, which he preferred to all other types of transport, is now displayed at his mausoleum, Kumsusan.
His son Kim Jong Il was known for his fear of flying, and traveled around the country and abroad exclusively by train.
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