NK bodyguards look the part

A surprise visit to the South by high-ranking North Korean officials this weekend garnered a lot of attention for political reasons.

However, people were also interested in the minutia of the rare occasion including the delegation’s eye-catching security escorts.

Officials including Pyongyang’s de facto number 2, Hwang Pyong-so, were flanked by tall men with immaculate haircuts wearing sunglasses, suits and earpieces. Their look did not escape the masses of netizens watching in the South.

“I feel like I'm watching a movie," one netizen posted, suggesting that the North had modeled the look after Hollywood films.

"These people seem like they can even beat the CIA," another said.

Internet news outlet Sisa Week quoted a passerby as saying, "I was shocked at how serious they looked."

According to some, the guards’ haircuts resembled that of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's, a style that reportedly was a trend in Pyongyang earlier this year.

"Chances are, these people are Kim Jong-un’s personal bodyguards," Kyungmin University professor Kang Myung-do told Channel A. "Kim might have ordered them to escort the high-level officials."