A North Korean defector who met Kim Jong-un seven times has disclosed the strict rules and dangers of being near the Supreme Leader. Lee Il-gyu, a former deputy director in North Korea's foreign ministry, shared his experiences in a video for Dimple Video and The NK Guys on YouTube.
The revelations come amid rumours that Kim, 42, died following a brain haemorrhage over the weekend. The Pyongyang Times, the hermit nation's English-language news site, inexplicably shut down, but state media have since posted pictures of Kim alive and well at an exhibition on Monday.
First meeting with Kim Jong-un
Il-gyu first met Kim at the airport, where he was in the VIP waiting room. He said in a translation: "The first time was at the airport. In the VIP waiting room, my whole body was tight with nerves. The first thing I said, I could hear my own voice shaking as I spoke."
He described his impression as "not quite" like meeting a God, as North Korean media likes to describe, but it also "didn't feel like ordinary contact" between human beings.
Witnessing cruelty and humanity
Il-gyu said every moment during those days was charged with tension. "What struck me most, or rather, in those short two days, I saw Kim Jong-un's cruelty, and I also saw an ordinary human being."
He witnessed a 60-year-old interpreter being disciplined after irritating Kim and "cutting in" while he was speaking. Kim branded him an "insolent man" and demanded he never be allowed near him again. The interpreter was hauled away but avoided execution thanks to a brother-in-law in the Organisation and Guidance Department, and was freed after "criticism sessions" that involved writing self-criticisms for a week.
Il-gyu said: "At the time, we honestly thought the man's life was over. One word of criticism from Kim Jong-un changes a person's fate."
Strict rules for audiences
Anyone granted an audience with Kim must complete a month of specialist training. The rules cover speech and conduct: no fidgeting, swaying, or unnecessary movements; no looking Kim directly in the face for any length of time; and stepping aside politely if he approaches.
"Don't scramble or panic. Move aside politely and carry yourself with composure. And as for speaking, before Kim Jong-un asks you a question, you must never speak to him on your own initiative or volunteer any show of excitement. Absolutely not."
Answers must be short, concise, and accurate, and one must never pretend to know something they don't. "Everything around him is recorded." The regime presents the recording process as "compiling the chronicle of revolutionary history", with secretaries shadowing his every move.
Standing out in a positive manner is also forbidden, meaning no flattery or "forcing a fake smile". Il-gyu stressed that Kim is merely a "human", yet no internal force within North Korea exists that is capable of holding him to account.
