Security-wary Kim Jong-un avoids using US pen provided for historic agreement signing

Kim Jong-un appeared unwilling to use the American pen provided for him as he signed the historic denuclearisation deal with Donald Trump today.

A member of the North Korean leader's security team was seen wearing white gloves and wiping down the Trump-branded pen provided for him moments before the two leaders sat down to put their names to the agreement.

Then at the last moment Mr Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, pulled a pen from her pocket which she gave to her brother.

Ms Kim, who is believed to be 30,  has emerged as the dictator’s most trusted confident in recent months and was the first member of the ruling dynasty to travel to South Korea during the February winter olympics.

The moment came as Mr Kim and Mr Trump signed an agreement at the The Capella Resort on the Singapore island of Sentosa , which committed to "leave the past behind" with North Korea pledging to start decommissioning parts of its nuclear arsenal.

Despite the unprecedented rapprochement between the two countries, the North Koreans have maintained a tight security presence around their leader.

Mr Kim is notoriously paranoid about leaving behind person and biological information about himself when he travels abroad.

He is reported to have brought his own toilet with him to the summit at the island hotel so that he doesn't leave any stool behind that can be analysed for intelligence about his health.

Paranoia about leaving behind DNA evidence is not confined to Mr Kim as his father, Kim Jong-il, also brought a private toilet with him when he travelled.

Lee Yun-keol, a North Korean defector who worked in the regime’s Guard Command unit before escaping to South Korea in 2005, told the Washington Post: “Rather than using a public restroom, the leader of North Korea has a personal toilet that follows him around when he travels.

“The leader’s excretions contain information about his health status so they can’t be left behind”.

Mr Kim’s health has been a topic of speculation before when he was seen walking with an unexplained limp in 2014.

He is also known to be a heavy smoker and is frequently seen holding  a lit cigarette in official photographs.

Information about the Kim family is so tightly controlled by North Korea that basic facts about Mr Kim such as his age, he is thought to be 34,  and the number of children he has are not known for certain.

North Korea has deployed other tight security measures to protect the leader while at the summit such as using decoy planes, bringing their own food and transporting him in a bullet-proof limousine.

Although yesterday Mr Kim did break with his closely-guarded regime when he went for a night-time stroll on the Singapore waterfront, even posing for selfies with the city-state's foreign minister.