Yahoo News Trump Kim summit in Singapore: Why does Kim Jong-un have running bodyguards?
Ahead of the historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader’s bodyguards have already stolen the show.
Clad in black suits with short haircuts, the group of men ran alongside Mr Kim’s bulletproof and fireproof limousine as it went through Singapore on Sunday.
Michael Madden, a visiting scholar of the US Korea Institute at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University, told the BBC the bodyguards are more than just “a piece of spectacle”.
He said: “When in North Korea, Mr Kim’s close bodyguard has three different lines that surround him. There’s a modified version of this on display in Singapore and all eyes are on the men in dark suits.
A reminder that the bodyguards who run alongside Kim Jong-un's car and act as a human shield are hand picked for their fitness, marksmanship, martial arts skills and even looks. Look out for them over the next few days.
— Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) June 10, 2018
“The bodyguards running alongside Mr Kim’s limousine and those who walk in close proximity to him are part of something called Central Party Office #6, or formally, it’s known as the Main Office of Adjutants.
“They form the immediate line around Mr Kim and are selected from Korean People’s Army (KPA) recruits fulfilling their national service conscription obligations.”
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To get selected to guard the North Korean leader, bodyguards must be approximately the same height as Mr Kim and not have any visual impairments.
They must be expert marksmen and trained in martial arts. Their families are also vetted before they can be given the post.
If selected as one of Mr Kim’s bodyguards, they are not allowed to refuse the offer, and enter a training programme to get them ready.
They are trained in the use of handguns, evasion techniques and a variety of martial arts, said Mr Madden.
He said the bodyguards form a ring around Mr Kim to they can scout the location and those who approach their leader.
This ring would be comprised of three to five bodyguards and includes the director of the Main Office of Adjutants.
In addition, there are between four and six bodyguards on his left and right, and then four or five more at the rear.
Mr Kim has fewer bodyguards than his father, Kim Jong-il, when the ratio was one guard to two of the senior officials accompanying him.
There is wild speculation about how Mr Kim will perform on the world stag. Will, for instance, his well-armed, well-muscled bodyguards march alongside his armoured limousine in a half-sprint, as they did when he met the South Korean leader?
Mr Kim arrived in Singapore on Sunday on a Chinese plane, not his official plane, which is called Chammae-1 and named after the goshawk, North Korea’s national bird.
It is not clear if he had shipped over the massive bulletproof and fireproof limousine that became a social media sensation when Mr Kim was shown being driven across the border between the Koreas during his first summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, with a dozen staunch bodyguards encircling the vehicle.
He could be seen speeding through Singapore on Sunday in a black limousine adorned with large North Korean flags.
Mr Kim’s bodyguards will certainly travel with him, providing trusted protection to back up local Singapore security that will control the perimeter and crowds, said Choi Kang, vice president of Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
Mr Kim arrived on Sunday at the St Regis hotel, where his close aide has been based as he leads a North Korean advance team arranging security and logistics details.
