Post-summit scrub: Media spotlights North’s efforts to remove leader’s DNA after bilateral meeting

A North Korean aide was caught on camera feverishly scrubbing down their leader Kim Jong-un’s chair and table moments after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin — sparking speculation about Pyongyang’s obsessive efforts to shield the leader’s biological data.

CNN reported the incident under the headline, “Kim Jong Un’s DNA scrubbed away?” on Wednesday, citing a Kremlin pool reporter’s footage that showed North Korean aides thoroughly cleaning the chair Kim had sat in during the meeting.

In the video, a male North Korean aide uses a white cloth to carefully wipe the chair, from the backrest to the armrests. The video was initially posted to Telegram by a Kremlin pool reporter under the handle @Yunashev_Live.

According to the report, the aide also cleaned the table that had been placed between the two leaders, despite there being no visible dirt or stains. The repeated wiping has sparked speculation that North Korea was attempting to eliminate any traces of Kim’s biological material to prevent potential information leaks.

On September 2, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that a private toilet appeared to have been installed on Kim’s armored train to prevent his bodily waste — and thus potential health information — from being accessed by foreign intelligence.

The outlet added that similar precautions were taken during the 2018 inter-Korean summit at the Peace House in Panmunjom and the U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore the same year.

In 2019, during Kim’s journey to Vietnam for a second summit with the United States, Kim was spotted smoking on a train platform in Nanning, southern China, while his sister, Kim Yo-jong, held an ashtray and promptly retrieved the cigarette butt — actions also believed to be aimed at protecting his biometric data.

According to the report, during the 2018 inter-Korean summit, North Korean aides sprayed disinfectant on Kim’s chair and wiped down the backrest and armrests multiple times. They also sprayed disinfectant into the air.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]