The Bodyguards Who Keep Kim Jong Un Safe And Alive

Tier Three
is the outer perimeter comprised of soldiers, often in battledress, sometimes wearing helmets and usually armed with automatic weapons. Normally, the soldiers are positioned at some distance from the leader, and are facing outward.

Then there is a mid-range (Tier Two) component that adjusts as the leader moves. In some cases, this shifting protective envelope consists of soldiers with automatic weapons, but more often appears to be made up of bodyguards wearing fatigues and field hats and armed with pistols.

Usually, there appear to be about a half dozen guards, several walking behind, some on the side, and, in some cases, a few in front of the leader. This group is less visible in still photographs, but sometimes appears in documentaries of the leader's appearances.

Finally, there is a close-in component (Tier One) of personal bodyguards. This contingent appears to be relatively small. Dressed in fatigues and field hats, and armed with pistols, the group sticks close to the leader.

On some occasions, plainclothes bodyguards accompany Kim, especially when he meets with foreign leaders or travels overseas. They can be identified either through their clothing ­– business suits, dress shirts and matching striped ties – or through their behavior and posture and the fact that they tend to tower over most of the other people in the photo.

Photos frequently show the presence of Kim Chol Gyu. Indeed, he is seen often enough that it is likely he is present at virtually all the leader's appearances. Sometimes, when the leader is in a building with many rooms,“Grandpa” can be seen going ahead to check out where Kim will go next.

This was the case with Kim Jong Un's meetings with then-president Donald Trump in Hanoi, Singapore and at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), as well as Kim Jong Un's September 2019 visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In general, it appears Kim's bodyguards try to avoid being photographed, and often are partially obscured or out of frame for still photographers. But this does not seem to be the case for videos, nor does there appear to be much of an effort to edit them out. Freeze frames from North Korean videos often provide the most revealing insights.

In outdoor settings, both the mid-range moving perimeter and the close-in personal guards are very active. When Kim visits a military installation to review the troops, for example, a guard will move either just behind or just ahead of him, while other guards position themselves along the very front line of the assembled soldiers.

Indoors, one or two guards usually precede the leader, checking each room as he enters, and then exiting, often by gliding along the wall, as soon as he steps inside. Not only does Kim Chol Gyu himself sometimes assume this role, but he also occasionally will escort the leader up or down stairways.

Usually, guards are also positioned behind him, especially if he is making his way down especially tricky stairs or ladders at military installations or on navy ships.

In the period immediately after Kim Jong Un succeeded his father in late 2011, photos showed security personnel quite close to him, as if he needed even more intense protection in his new role.

But after more than a decade, based on what can be seen in photos and videos, it appears Kim is now quite confident, both of the loyalty of those tasked with ensuring his safety and of his broader standing with the North Korean people.

He does not seem to be afraid of crowds. Indeed, the images suggest he enjoys pressing the flesh, and feels secure enough to do so.

No leader can ever be perfectly safe. In 1984, Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by one of her bodyguards, and in 1979 South Korean dictator Park Chung Hee was murdered by his security chief.

And between ordering the execution of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, and the murder of his half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un unquestionably operates in an environment that would make those in charge of his security nervous.

But the evidence to date suggests that despite his bloody past and many enemies, both domestic and international, Kim Jong Un feels safe for now in entrusting his life to“Grandpa” and the men Kim Chol Gyu commands.

Mike Chinoy is a former CNN senior Asia correspondent who is currently a non-resident senior fellow at the University of Southern California's US-China Institute.

He has visited North Korea 17 times and is the author of two books about the country, Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis and The Last POW. His most recent book is Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People's Republic.