North Korea’s Strict Security Protocols: Kim Jong Un’s Staff Seen Wiping Everything After Putin Meeting
After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s high-profile meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, footage revealed his staff meticulously cleaning every surface he had touched. Analysts say these extreme measures are part of Pyongyang’s long-standing security protocols aimed at preventing foreign intelligence agencies from gathering sensitive information about Kim’s health.
A video shared on Telegram by Kremlin reporter Alexander Yunashev showed two North Korean aides scrubbing the chair’s armrests and backrest, wiping down a nearby coffee table, and removing Kim’s drinking glass. The cleaning took place immediately after Kim and Putin spent over two hours in talks, before the leaders moved on to a private tea meeting and warm farewell.
According to experts, this level of caution is nothing new. Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership specialist at the US-based Stimson Center, explained that Kim follows the same rigorous security traditions established by his father, Kim Jong Il. “From special toilets to carefully bagging waste and cigarette butts, the goal is to prevent even friendly nations from collecting DNA or biological samples that could reveal Kim’s medical conditions,” Madden noted.
This isn’t the first time Kim’s security team has been seen enforcing such protocols.
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In 2019, after Kim’s summit with former US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, his guards spent hours disinfecting his hotel room and even removed a mattress.
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In 2018, before Kim’s meeting with then South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean staff sanitized his chair and desk before he sat down.
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In 2023, ahead of another summit with Putin, security agents disinfected his chair and even scanned it with a metal detector before allowing him to sit.
The repeated precautions underscore how seriously Pyongyang takes the leader’s personal security and health secrecy. While Kim Jong Un has presented himself as forging stronger ties with Russia and China, these behind-the-scenes measures highlight the enduring paranoia and strict protocols surrounding North Korea’s leadership.