Kim Jong-Un boarded his train for Hanoi Saturday with what seemed to be half of the city of Pyongyang going with him. Kim and President Trump are to have another big meeting this week and Kim likes his train. Videos showing the long green train leaving the station in Pyongyang didn’t provide me with information on how long this train actually is. But I think he took all the passenger cars he could find for the 60 hour trip.

His daddy, Kim Jong-II was a big train advocate too. But he was afraid of airplanes. Papa Kim made train trips to Moscow which made all the news. That was because people didn’t know you could take a train to Moscow from Pyongyang. I didn’t know you could catch one out of there for Hanoi either. But then I am not Kim Jong-Un. How does he get his choo-choo there? Well, it must be pretty complicated as Kim’s long and private train first went into China on the road to Peiping.

The folks in China try to look after Kim since North Korea is their client state. That is, they give it money and keep it up. So they are probably buying the diesel for the thing too. This messes up China in another way. Their trains are mostly high speed rail and Kim’s special train is old. And slow. Thus they have to clear a lot of track for his train to “bumble” its way through and their schedules are messed up too. But Kim likes his privacy and the security he finds on his own private train. This way he can take all the members of his government he wants with him. And I guess they all want to go. I would if I lived in North Korea.

Kim will be pressed by Trump to give up some or most of his nuclear weapons. Kim is willing to talk about this in hopes he can get some sanctions lifted on his country. North Koreans have been starving (even to death) for years and they are unable to grow enough food to sustain themselves. This is, of course, a basic necessity for Kim and to fail at this has put a burden on their sponsoring nations such as China. Korea has spent much of their national treasure on armed might. Especially on nuclear bombs and rockets. Now, President Trump is using their predicament as a negotiating tool. He has told them, “Get rid of all those expensive bombs and guided missiles and rockets and we’ll help you get back on your feet.” I wish him all the luck in the world.

Then there’s this: the war waged between the U. S. and Korea has never been officially ended. We have thousands of troops still stationed just south of the 38th parallel. They could come home. And let me say this while I have your attention. Back in 1987 Kim built this “gosh-awful” hotel in Pyongyang. It is 105 stories tall and its name is the Ryugyong Hotel. The only thing it has is an anti-aircraft light on top for aircraft. In 2009 an Egyptian company came in and fi nished the exterior of the building, put windows in the place and mounted cell phone antennae on it. Then they packed up and left in a huff. The hotel was to open with 3,000 rooms, casinos, 8 floors on top that revolved with 5 restaurants that also revolved.

Like I said, it’s just an empty building. Do you suppose that President Kim is luring Donald Trump down there to sell him this big 105 storied white elephant? That would be interesting. Another Trump Tower--in Asia--and seeing who was able to out negotiate who.

I hope you have a good week and that you are able to go to your church this Sunday.