North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang in his signature green train on Monday on his way to Beijing, relying on a slow but specialised form of transport that the reclusive country's leaders have used for decades.

The North Korean leader’s favorite mode of transportation provides him — like his father and grandfather before him — with tight security. But it’s no express train.

As a select group of world leaders prepares to roll into Beijing for a massive military parade on Wednesday, one is traveling in his signature armored green train: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.