North Korea has ‘disappeared’ 20 crack troops after Kim Jong-un‘s ‘safety was seriously threatened’ when they broke one simple rule.
The soldiers were arrested for breaching safety protocols when the dictator observed exercises at their special forces base in September.
A Pyongyang source said the arrested men had looked towards the tyrant while armed, ‘potentially endangering the leader’s life’.
‘This led to a situation where Chairman Kim’s safety was seriously threatened in an instant,’ according to the Daily NK newspaper.
Now the men have vanished and their families have been sent death notices, with one set of parents who enquired after their son also disappearing.
The source said: ‘Glancing towards the supreme leader during live-fire exercises is risky and could lead to accidents.
‘Kim’s security personnel harshly criticised the soldiers for such inappropriate behaviour.
‘It was such a major problem that they unnerved even Kim’s security team, especially since they knew about the visit and had rehearsed.
‘This led to accusations of insincere attitudes during the drill.’
File photo. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a cadet practicing at the Kang Kon Military Academy, in Pyongyang, North Korea, February 25, 2025
File photo. Men have vanished and their families have been sent death notices, with one set of parents who enquired after their son also disappearing
In propaganda photos of the visit, a grinning Kim can be seen watching his troops put through their paces.
Pictures capture armed men storming a building, taking target practice, and engaged in a shirtless martial arts performance.
At the time, a regime mouthpiece said Kim was ‘assured and proud to see the soldiers’ and gave them ‘high praise and great honour’.
In reality, the dictator reportedly complained of the soldiers’ posture during the exercises, and blamed their commanders.
The source continued: ‘The unit’s commanders and those involved likely face severe punishment, as the authorities take such mistakes during the supreme leader’s visits very seriously.
‘However, Kim must approve the final punishment.’
In a subsequent update, the source said the men would never return home, but would be transferred to ‘quarantine areas’.
They added that the families had been sent death notices to conceal the decision.
File photo. Kim Jong Un, center, poses with North Korean air force sharpshooters and soldiers for a photo at an unknown location in North Korea in 2019
Self-propelled artillery units conduct training drills in North Korea, March 7, 2024
One set of parents from Sariwon, 40 miles south of Pyongyang, reportedly questioned the official narrative and went to the capital to investigate.
They too disappeared, according to Daily NK, which is based in neighbouring South Korea.
Officials then cleared out their home, telling neighbours that the house had been reassigned to someone else.
A source said: ‘They didn’t even die fighting for their country, so is it right for their families to be wiped out because of a single mistake made during shooting practice?’
Michael Madden, an expert on the country’s elite and founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, said it looked like Kim’s bodyguards passing the buck.
He said: ‘This seems to be a case of sh** rolling downhill.
‘Kim Jong-un’s security detail may not have made adequate preparations, but Special Operations Forces are intended to take the blame.’
He continued: ‘His bodyguards pride themselves on preparations and in this case something interfered with that.
‘They need to justify their role and power which means they will do anything to retain that authority.
‘If it’s their fault they will assign blame to other individuals or institutions to avoid accepting culpability.’
File photo. Kim Jong Un observing the launch of a strategic cruise missile during a drill by the Korean People’s Army, on the coast of the ‘West Sea of Korea’, on February 26, 2025
Artillery fires in a startling show of force in North Korea as troops watch on, March 7, 2024
Mr Madden, a fellow of the Stimson Center in Washington DC, also noted how Kim’s bodyguards wore blue tactical attire and carried assault rifles for the visit.
Usually they’d wear suits and ties.
‘We might interpret that as evidence that there were security concerns,’ he said.
As for the true fate of the detained men, they could pay the ultimate price.
He said: ‘If they fell on their swords and accepted responsibility then they got off with hard labour.
‘On the other hand they could have been executed.
‘I would point out, however, that this cohort was getting prepped for deployment to Russia.
‘So they may have been deployed and are expected to redeem themselves in battle as compensation.’