Armed with khukris and assault rifles, Singapore’s fierce Gurkhas to guard Trump-Kim summit
The soldiers, who are recruited from the hills of Nepal and keep a low profile in the city state, came out for the Shangri-La conference over the weekend and are expected at next week’s meeting
When US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet for their historic summit in Singapore later this month, they will be protected by men from one of the fiercest warrior tribes in the world – the Gurkhas of Nepal.
The Gurkhas, recruited by the Singapore police from the hills of faraway Nepal, were kitted out in body armour, Belgian-made FN SCAR combat assault rifles and pistols in leg holsters at the conference, in what some security experts believed was a dry run for the US-North Korea summit.
Despite all the advanced weaponry, the Gurkhas do not prepare for battle without the khukri – the heavy curved knife that is their traditional weapon of choice. According to custom, the khukri must draw blood every time it is unsheathed.