Kim Jong Un's aides stage unusual clean-up operation after he meets Putin in China | WATCH

Screengrab of the viral video which shows North Korean staff frantically wiping down every surface Kim Jong Un touched after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Source: X)

A video from Beijing has gone viral showing North Korean staff frantically wiping down every surface Kim Jong Un touched after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual scene unfolded on Wednesday after the two leaders held talks following a large military parade hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the clip posted on Telegram, two of Kim’s aides move quickly once the meeting ends. One carefully polishes the backrest and wooden arms of the chair Kim had used, while another takes away his drinking glass on a tray with the precision of an investigator. The side table next to the chair is also scrubbed clean until no trace of Kim’s presence remains.

The staff accompanying the North Korean leader meticulously erased all traces of Kim's presence.

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They took the glass he drank from, wiped down the chair's upholstery, and cleaned the parts of the furniture the Korean leader had touched. pic.twitter.com/JOXVxg04Ym

— Russian Market (@runews) September 3, 2025

“After the negotiations, the staff accompanying the head of the DPRK carefully destroyed all traces of Kim's presence,” Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev reported on his channel Yunashev Live. “They took away the glass from which he drank, wiped the upholstery of the chair and those parts of the furniture that the Korean leader touched. The official part of the meeting ended, Putin and Kim left the office very satisfied and went to drink tea in a more relaxed atmosphere.”

The exact reason for this forensic-style clean-up is not clear. Some speculate it may be a precaution against Russia’s powerful security services, while others point to worries about China’s surveillance reach. Kim is not the only world leader protective of his biological footprint. Putin himself is reported to go to great lengths to prevent DNA theft. According to reports, his bodyguards collect his urine and faecal matter in sealed bags during foreign trips and carry them back to Moscow in special suitcases. This practice, apparently in place since 2017, is believed to stop hostile powers from gathering information about his health.

At their talks, Kim went beyond hygiene and pledged his full support to Putin. “If there is anything I can or must do for you and the Russian people, I consider it my duty as a fraternal obligation,” he told the Russian president, who addressed him as “Dear Chairman of State Affairs.” Putin thanked Pyongyang for sending troops to Ukraine. South Korean estimates say Kim has dispatched thousands of soldiers to support Russia, with casualties ranging from hundreds to as many as 2,000.

The meeting in Beijing marked Kim’s first known foreign trip since the pandemic and his first chance to meet both Putin and Xi together. Hours earlier, the three leaders had flanked each other at a massive military parade commemorating Japan’s surrender in World War Two, an event seen as a show of their growing cooperation on the global stage.