Seoul (CNN) -- Head butting stacked tiles, smashing a slab of granite on your chest with a mallet, breaking light bulbs with one finger. All vital qualifications if you want a job protecting the elite of North Korea. Propaganda footage from North Korean TV shows a staggering array of physical feats, using taekwondo and other martial arts. Visually impressive -- although it's not certain how the skills would keep an armed assassin at bay. Lee Young-guk was bodyguard to the late Kim Jong Il for 10 years until just before he took control of North Korea. He says he went through very similar training before he was considered fit to protect a leader.
@highlight
Lee Young-guk was bodyguard to the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for ten years
@highlight
He remembers him as a man surrounded by terrified advisors
@highlight
Lee was caught trying to escape in 1994 and sent to an infamous prison camp
@highlight
He says he fears the current North Korean leader may be even worse than his father
He remembers a senior official who once used @placeholder's private elevator and ashtray.