"Wiping Out Kim Jong Un's DNA?... Chair and Table Thoroughly Cleaned After Meeting With Putin"

Aides Meticulously Clean Chair and Table... "Concerns Over DNA Collection"
Private Restrooms and Cigarette Butt Collection... Blocking Health Information Leaks

Immediately after Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, concluded his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, China, on the 3rd, North Korean aides were seen meticulously wiping down the chair and table where Chairman Kim had sat.

A North Korean aide cleaning the chair where Chairman Kim Jong Un sat. Photo by Yunashev, Russian journalist on Telegram.

CNN reported on the same day under the headline "Wiping Away Kim Jong Un's DNA?" that a video shot by a Kremlin pool reporter captured the scene of the chair where Chairman Kim had sat being thoroughly cleaned. In the released footage, an aide is seen repeatedly wiping the backrest, seat, and armrests with a white cloth. The same aide also cleaned the table placed between the two leaders several times. The persistent cleaning, despite no visible stains, drew attention. CNN noted, "Some genetics experts say that DNA can be used for information gathering."

The footage was filmed by Russian journalist Pavel Yunashev and released on his Telegram channel.

Concerns Over Biometric Information Leakage... Thorough Security Awareness

KIM Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, held a meeting on the 3rd at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 4th. Yonhap News Agency

This is not the first time Chairman Kim's traces have been deliberately erased. On the 2nd, Nikkei reported that special equipment had been installed inside Kim Jong Un's private train to prevent the leakage of biometric information, analyzing that these measures were intended to monitor his health and prevent health information from being exposed through waste. Nikkei also reported, "When staying at hotels for summits such as the North Korea-U.S. summit, all traces like hair and saliva were removed, and even the used tableware was completely sterilized to ensure no DNA remained."

In fact, during the 2018 inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom, a private restroom was brought in separately, and during the same year's North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore, a private restroom was reportedly flown in as well. Before the 2019 Hanoi summit in Vietnam, a scene was captured showing his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, now a deputy director of the Workers' Party, personally collecting his cigarette butts with an ashtray after he smoked. This has been interpreted as a measure to prevent even cigarette butts from exposing health information.

An official from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, who is well-versed in North Korean affairs, told Nikkei, "The health information of the supreme leader has a significant impact on the North Korean regime," adding, "Special efforts are made to ensure that hair or bodily waste is not leaked outside."