WATCH: Kim Jong Un’s North Korean aides scrub DNA traces after meeting Putin in Beijing

“After the negotiations were over, the staff accompanying the head of the DPRK carefully destroyed all traces of Kim’s presence,” Yunashev wrote.

Analysts say, as per Reuters, that this move is part of Pyongyang’s long-standing security protocol against foreign intelligence. At present, such measures may be aimed at preventing foreign agencies from gathering information on Kim’s health.

“The special toilet and the requisite garbage bags of detritus, waste and cigarette butts are so that a foreign intelligence agency, even a friendly one, does not acquire a sample and test it,” Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership specialist at the US-based Stimson Center, told Reuters.

Kim is also known to travel with a personal toilet on his signature armored green train, Japan’s Nikkei reported, citing South Korean and Japanese intelligence sources.

This is not the first time Kim’s entourage has been seen taking such precautions. In 2019, after a summit in Hanoi with US President Donald Trump, guards reportedly spent hours cleaning his hotel suite and removing items including a mattress.

During past meetings with South Korea’s Moon Jae-in and with Putin, aides were seen sanitising chairs and scanning them with metal detectors before Kim sat down.

The clean-up in Beijing came after a more than two-hour conversation between Kim and Putin, followed by tea in a more informal setting, according to Reuters and Russian state media accounts.

The Mirror reported that during the talks, Kim pledged additional support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, calling it North Korea’s “fraternal duty.”

Putin, in turn, thanked North Korean soldiers, saying, “Your warriors fought bravely and heroically.” Reports suggest that of the 13,000 troops North Korea has sent, around 2,000 have been killed.

The meeting also drew attention for another reason. Kim was accompanied by his young daughter, Kim Ju-ae, believed to be around 12 or 13.

Her repeated appearances at major state and military events since 2022 have fueled speculation that she is being groomed as Kim’s eventual successor, though North Korean state media has only referred to her as “beloved” and “respected,” never by name.

(With inputs from Reuters, The Mirror)

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