China may send fighter jet escort for Kim Jong-un when he flies to Singapore to meet Trump
South Korean military source says Beijing could send message to Washington and Seoul that it’s got North leader’s back
China could send fighter jets to escort Kim Jong-un when North Korea’s Air Force One travels through its airspace for a meeting in Singapore with US President Donald Trump, a South Korean military source said, as Beijing tries to boost its influence over the regime ahead of the summit.
“Escorting [a head of a state] with jets is one of the highest security protocols that the air force can provide,” a source with the South Korean Air Force told the South China Morning Post.
“If China does provide the escort, it may be a message directed at the US-ROK alliance that China is strongly backing up the Kim regime,” the source said, referring to South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
Kim is known for being paranoid about his personal security, and details of the route he will take to reach the Southeast Asian city state – which is more than 4,000km from Pyongyang – for Tuesday’s meeting are not known. But people familiar with Kim family security matters said Pyongyang would take “extra care” to ensure the safety of the North Korean leader, who is believed to be about 34.
“The number of guards and Kim’s travel routes will be North Korea’s biggest security concern in Singapore,” said Lee Yun-keol, who worked in a North Korean Supreme Guard Command unit – the personal bodyguard force tasked with protecting the Kim family – before defecting to South Korea in 2005.