Kim Jong Un's internet-famous bodyguards have been seen jogging in formation his car in Singapore - here's everything we know about them
- Kim Jong Un travels with a group of bodyguards who jog in formation around his car at significant events.
- The bodyguards captured international attention earlier this year when they were seen running alongside Kim's car in South Korea.
- The men are selected from army conscripts based on physical appearance and abilities.
The elite group of boduguards who defend Kim Jong Un by jogging next to his car have been spotted in action again in Singapore ahead of his summit with Donald Trump.
The men, who captured international attention earlier by running in formation alongside Kim's limo, are back in action ahead of the historic meeting.
Twelve of Kim's bodyguards, all dressed in dark, Western-style suits, were spotted jogging alongside the North Korean leader's car in Singapore before the highly-anticipated Trump-Kim summit on Tuesday.
The Washington Post's Anna Fifield posted footage of them in action on Sunday. You can see five flanking the car on both sides, while two others run behind it.
Kim's bodyguards captured international attention in April after they were seen running next to the North Korean leader's Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine as it travelled across the border between South and North Korea.
It's not clear whether the 12 bodyguards jogging alongside Kim's car on Sunday were the same as the ones in April.
Background checks and intensive training
The bodyguards are part of an elite military group in North Korea called the Main Office of Adjutants, also known as Central Party Office #6, according to the BBC.
They are some of the only North Korean citizens who are allowed to carry loaded guns near Kim, and typically carry a semi-automatic handgun and another back-up weapon.
They are selected from the pool of army conscripts fulfilling their mandatory national service to the Korean People's Army, and are picked based on strict criteria:
- Be approximately the same height as Kim.
- Not have any visual impairments.
- Demonstrate a superior capability in fitness, marksmanship, and martial arts skills.
The recruits then have to pass rigorous background checks, in which their parents and grandparents are also vetted.
Once passed, they are then drilled on the use of handguns, evasion techniques, and martial arts. They are also honed on their observation skills and ability to neutralise perceived threats using only their hands and bodies.
Kim is terrified of being assassinated both within and outside North Korea. Pyongyang has accused the US and South Korea of plotting to kill Kim with chemical weapons in the past, and China is rumoured to have explored an assassination plot involving his brother, Kim Jong Nam.
The North Korean leader also travels with a personal portable toilet to prevent other countries from gaining "insights into to the supreme leader's stools" and finding out about the state of his health.
Singapore is also taking extraordinary measures to protect Trump and Kim this week. The city's government demarcated its central district and Sentosa island, where the two leaders will meet, as "special event" areas from June 10 to June 14.
Drones, flammable materials, and items like flags and banners will be prohibited from those areas, The Straits Times of Singapore reported.