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Kim Jong-un appears to have chosen his favoured means of transportation for his first journey outside North Korea in nearly four years – a lavishly adorned, heavily fortified and slow-moving train. Mr Kim reached Russia on Tuesday after boarding the train on Sunday. He was accompanied by top arms industry and military officials besides North Korea’s foreign minister. The green-coloured and armoured train carrying Mr Kim reached Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s far east that is about 127km south of Vladivostok, on Monday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, citing an unnamed Russian official source. Vladimir Putin and Mr Kim are expected to discuss arms shipments that could aid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, in a regional summit taking place in Vladivostok. The trip has happened as Russia leans closer to the east Asian country even though Washington has warned against an arms deal. Few have travelled in the North Korean leader’s private train besides the isolated country’s political elite, but pictures posted in state media depict a train full of luxuries. The train cars are painted military green on the outside and have a yellow streak across the body. The interiors are glossy white, with long tables for meetings. Other pictures also show red leather armchairs. The train has conference rooms, audience chambers and bedrooms, with satellite phones and flat-screen televisions installed for briefings. “It was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine,” Russian official Konstantin Pulikovsky had recounted, while on a trip across Russia’s far east with Kim Jong Il in a book called Orient Express, the Washington Post had reported. The Russian official had said there were cases of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines and live lobsters. The travellers were reportedly entertained by live singers who were introduced as “lady conductors”. The train has a total of 90 rail cars, with some designed to carry vehicles as well. Reports say each carriage is bulletproof, making the train thousands of pounds heavier. The train is, hence, slow. The reduced speed of the train is frequently attributed to its substantial weight – a consequence of the additional armour incorporated into the train’s structure. Georgy Toloraya, another Russian diplomat who travelled with Kim Jong Il in 2001, said, during an examination of the train by Russian technicians, they discovered armoured sheets positioned beneath two primary railcars employed by the North Korean leader for both residential and official functions. The technicians reportedly also discovered that the railcars originated from the Soviet Union, but had undergone extensive modifications at some later date. According to a report by South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, approximately 100 security agents are dispatched in advance to railway stations to conduct security sweeps for potential threats. Power is deliberately shut off at these stations to prevent other trains from departing. The report from 2009 also noted the presence of a substantial logistical support contingent, which includes Soviet-made Il-76 air force transport planes and Mi-17 helicopters. Read More North Korea’s Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia ahead of meeting with Putin – report Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia in ‘absolute secrecy’ ahead of weapons talk with Putin Kim Jong-un heading for Russia by train ahead of weapons talks with Putin The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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Helmut Marko has received a written warning from the FIA and was “reminded of his responsibilities as a public figure in motorsport” after his ”offensive remark” about Sergio Perez. The 80-year-old, who works as a special advisor for Red Bull, apologised after comments made after the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Marko referred to Perez’s background when discussing his poor form, saying: “Let’s remember that he (Perez) is South American and so he is not as focused as Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel was.” While Marko apologised for the “offensive remark”, with Perez accepting the apology, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff were among the figures to condemn Marko’s actions when speaking this weekend in Singapore. Now, the FIA have confirmed that Marko has "received a written warning and been reminded of his responsibilities as a public figure in motorsport in line with the FIA Code of Ethics." Hamilton, 38, labelled Marko’s comments as “completely unacceptable” on Thursday. “This is not something you just apologise for and it is all OK,” the seven-time world champion said. “Whilst we say there is no room for any type of discrimination in this sport – and there should be no room for it – to have leaders and people in his position making comments like this is not good for us moving forward. “There are a lot of people in the background that really are combating these kind of things, but it is hard to manoeuvre if people at the top have mindsets which stop us from progressing. “But it is not my team and not how we move as a team. We still have a lot of work to do to make this a more inclusive environment.” Mercedes boss Wolff added: “That thing is so embarrassing for Formula 1., overall. “It’s not even saying it, it’s to have the mindset. To come up with these things. We are trying to do so much on diversity and equality, not only because we need to it’s because it needs it. “This is a role model environment, we are a global sport, we are going to every country, we are embracing the cultural differences. That hasn’t got any place in Formula 1. Not now and not in the future.” Read More Red Bull chief apologises to Sergio Perez over ‘offensive remark’ Sergio Pérez says he received personal apology from Red Bull boss over heritage comments Lewis Hamilton labels Helmut Marko’s comments about Sergio Perez ‘completely unacceptable’ F1 Singapore Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times at Marina Bay Zhou Guanyu interview: ‘There is a lot of pressure – only winners stay in F1’ Max Verstappen tells Toto Wolff to focus on Mercedes after snipe