When Kim Jong Un met Vladimir Putin in Beijing at the beginning of September during the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end, the handshake stole headlines, but the real theater unfolded afterward. As the leaders departed, Kim’s aides moved with military precision: wiping armrests, clearing tables, and even pocketing the glass he had touched.
This is no mere obsession with cleanliness; DNA is treated as state intelligence, a marker of power and control. For Pyongyang, safeguarding the leader’s traces is as critical as diplomacy itself, revealing the extreme lengths the regime goes to protect its secrets and maintain authority.
Click through the gallery to
explore the meticulous security routines surrounding Kim Jong Un.