Kim Jong-un is crazily paranoid and carries his own toilet around so that no DNA print is left behind
When Kim Jong-un made his way to the historic Korean summit in Seoul early in 2018, he is said to have surprised everyone. The expectation from those in attendance was they would meet a dictator who was cold, reclusive, and distant.
Instead, he was as social as one could be. He was reportedly smiling, bantering, self-deprecating, and moving along the room toasting and hugging officials of a country he had been in a war with for close to seven decades and who he had accused repeatedly of trying to undermine him and assassinate him.
While previously he was seen as "a demon, evil, impulsive, irrational," he was now described as "rational, reasonable, accommodating, and accessible" and even "frank, open-minded, and courteous."
But many felt he had been using the charm and charisma to disguise his paranoia. A paranoia that he has carried with him as long as anyone can remember, and which he no doubt feels is justified.
Kim is believed to have brought his own toilet to Panmunjom to make sure he did not leave behind waste that could be diagnosed for health conditions — or anything else. He also brought his own pens and pencils, and his staff wiped off anything he touched to ensure nothing as much as a fingerprint was left behind.
As dramatic as it sounds, it shouldn't have come as a surprise considering, just a year prior to the summit, North Korea had accused the US and South Korea of trying to kill their Supreme Leader with a "bio-chemical substance."
In an 1800-word report, North Korean state news agency KCNA said a "hideous terrorist group" conspired with the CIA and South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) to "commit bomb terrorism" targeting Kim during major events.
It claimed a North Korean citizen had been recruited to use "biochemical substances including radioactive substance and nano poisonous substance" whose effect would have been delayed by a few months but said the plot was "recently uncovered and smashed."
It was by no means an isolated incident either, with North Korea constantly pointing fingers at those they feel were threatening their very existence.
A month before that report was published, state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun alleged that US-Australian military exercises in northern Australia were preparation for nuclear war against North Korea, and threatened retaliatory strikes.
With Kim seeing the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, his security measures became even more extreme. He reportedly traveled only at dawn — even then only in the cars of his subordinates — and stayed away from making public appearances weeks at a time.
His personal bodyguard regiment, which consisted of soldiers from 'Office Number 6', a part of the 100,000 strong Guard Command that protects the top North Korean elites, was then bolstered with a dozen former Soviet KGB agents.
That paranoia was quite apparent during his summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore, too. It was just his third known trip outside North Korea, and to make the 3,000-mile journey, he used a plane loaned to him by China — an American-made Boeing 747 that was formerly used by Chinese leaders.
He also used two decoy jets, including his own country's outdated Soviet-era Ilyushin-62 dubbed Air Force Un, to hide which aircraft he would be flying in.
However, the lasting image that best encapsulated his wariness and which hit headlines across the world came after the plane landed.
Footage showed his security detail jogging in formation around his black Mercedes stretch limo as he was whisked to his hotel from the airport. The hotel was then surrounded by armed Singaporean officers wielding machine guns.
But despite the plethora of measures he took against outside forces, in the end, it looks like his demise came at his own hands.