- Kim Jong-Il’s Russian rendezvous: The North Korean dictator is traveling through Russia by means of an armored train, on a route expected to keep him abroad for the next week or so (North Korea is generally much tighter-lipped about his schedule than they seem to have been this time). He’s reportedly scheduled for a meeting with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, which analysts believe may be about a gas pipeline Russia would like to run into South Korea, through Northern territory. The deal could bring North Korea nearly $500 million a year, a very considerable chunk of change. source