After Kim Jong Un, Chairperson of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, finished a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, in Beijing, China, on the 3rd (local time), a scene was captured on camera showing North Korean aides meticulously cleaning the chair and table where Kim had been seated.
CNN reported on its online edition with the headline 'Cleaning Kim Jong Un's DNA?' that "the video shot by a Kremlin pool reporter after the meeting between Kim and Putin showed the chair that Kim had been seated in being carefully cleaned."
The video released by CNN showed a North Korean male aide holding a white cloth and carefully cleaning the chair from the backrest to the seat and armrests where Kim had been sitting. This aide then cleaned the table next to the chair, which had been placed between the two leaders during the meeting. The repeated cleaning of the chair and table, despite there being no visible dirt, caught attention.
CNN noted, "Some genetics experts have said that DNA can be used for information collection and this could be a measure to block that." The video was shot by Russian journalist Yunashev and uploaded to his Telegram account.
On that day, there was also a clash between North Korean and Russian aides over the indoor temperature at the meeting venue. According to the Russian daily Kommersant, a North Korean special mission official suddenly grabbed the wall-mounted air conditioning unit and tried to change the temperature freely in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, where the North-Russia bilateral meeting was held. As this North Korean official raised the indoor temperature to 23 degrees, a Russian counterpart objected and insisted on setting it to 20 degrees.
The media reported, "The North Korean official understood the words of his Russian colleague, who was speaking in Russian, but did not give up on (temperature control) at all." It added, "The two were reportedly arguing over who would take their fingers off the thermostat, and ultimately one person backed down; it seems the North Korean might have had a bit of a hard time."
In the video released by Kommersant on its Telegram channel, it can be seen that the North Korean official left the seat first, while the Russian official continued to guard the air conditioning unit and control the temperature thereafter.
Shortly after this incident, it was reported that President Putin and Chairperson Kim arrived at the meeting venue in President Putin's limousine, as explained by the journalist.