North Korea beefs up Kim Jong-un’s security due to assassination threat
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy North Korea is beefing up security around leader Kim Jong-un, likely for fear of assassination, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service informed lawmakers on Tuesday. The spy agency further reported that North Korea has stopped using its “juche” calendar—a year-numbering system honouring its late founder Kim Il-sung—and is intensifying efforts to solidify Mr Kim’s role as the country’s sole leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk in Pyongyang on 19 June 2024 Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said on Monday that some North Korean military units were already in the Kursk border region, where Russia has been fighting off an incursion by the Ukrainian forces. In phone calls with European commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Mr Rutte, South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol shared intelligence assessments indicating that North Korean troops could reach the frontlines “more quickly than anticipated”.