'The dark shadows' are back [PHOTOS]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's bodyguards surround a vehicle presumably carrying Kim near the St. Regis Hotel in Singapore. Yonhap

North Korean bodyguards watch over the surroundings of the St. Regis Hotel where North Kim Jong-un is staying in Singapore. Yonhap

Near the St. Regis Hotel on June 12, North Korean bodyguards talk with a Singaporean police officer ahead of Kim Jong-un's arrival at the hotel. Yonhap

Kim's bodyguards will keep a close watch during his travels in the city-state. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

A group of well-built bodyguards with short crew cuts accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.

The men, whom South Korean media called "Dark shadows" during the inter-Korean summit in April, moved in a tight formation to keep their boss shielded on his first day in Singapore, Sunday.

There appeared little room for 12 bodyguards to surround Kim's limousine as he headed to the Istana, the official residence of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, shortly after he arrived in the city-state on June 10.

Their V-shaped formation shielded Kim's vehicle during the April summit.

North Korean bodyguards run alongside Kim Jong-un's limousine as Kim leaves the southern part of Panmunjeom after finishing a morning session of the inter-Korean summit on April 27 and heading to the northern part of the border village for lunch. Yonhap

The security agents, reportedly from Pyongyang's elite 974 Unit, are keeping watch around St. Regis Hotel, where Kim is staying in Singapore.

They are the cream of the top North Korean secret service members who are highly skilled in using a variety of weapons and experts in close combats.

They are from the trusted rank and file members of the Workers' Party and are well paid.