‘Kim Jong-un accompanied his father on two China tours’

North Korean heir apparent Kim Jong-un, 27, reportedly accompanied the leader and his father Kim Jong-il during the latter’s trips twice to China this year.

Sources on North Korea at home and abroad said Monday junior Kim had been to Beijing with his father in May and August but did not attend formal summit between the communist allies.

Kim Jong-un is reported to have used false name of ‘Kimjong’ and disguised himself as a secret service man. He also was not on the formal entourage list.

The junior Kim was named four-star general with his aunt last Tuesday when the North’s Workers’ Party held its convention of representatives in 44 years and won two key party posts the following day – the vice chairmanship of the party’s Central Military Commission and membership of the party’s Central Commission, paving clear the way for the next leadership.

Kim Jong-un was close to leader Kim as a secret service man, wearing a black suit during the trip to China,” said one source. “It is believed that this will be used as a model case of Kim Jong-un’s royalty to “former leader’(Kim Jong-il) in the process of power transfer hereafter.”

Leader Kim also accompanied his father Kim Il-sung when the latter visited the Soviet Union in 1959 and Indonesia in 1965. He reportedly checked the healthcare entourage comprised of a doctor, nurse and others examining the health of senior Kim.

The sources said that Kim Jong-un’s elder brother Jong-chul also accompanied his father during the North Korean leader’s trip to China and looked around Yukmun Middle School and other sites involving Kim Il-sung’s reform activities.

“The August trip to China, which was envisioned during the similar trip in May, is a kind of “pilgrimage” by leader Kim and his two sons to the historic sites involving Kim Il-sung,” the source said. “Kim Jong-un was not introduced to the Chinese side. But it was not made secret enough for the Chinese side not to notice him.”

The sources analyzed Kim Jong-un was spotted in photos and video clips during his trip to China on two occasions but the North authorities did not seem leak the images to outside world intentionally.

Jong-un appeared standing not far from leader Kim in the photo released by the North’s Korean Central News Agency during the May trip and the image clip aired by the (North) Korean Central TV during the August trip.

In particular, the May trip photo of the agency was carried in Rodong Sinmum due to mistake of those in charge of the report and the newspapers were hurriedly recollected as soon as being distributed, according to the sources.

“Party’s secretary Choi Tae-bok hurriedly visited China shortly after the party’s meeting of representatives to explain about heir apparent Kim Jong-un to the Chinese leader in person,” the source said. “Now that Kim Jong-un has formally become the heir to the power, he will naturally make trips to China like leader Kim Jong-il.”

Kim Jong-il unofficially visited China at the invitation of Hu Yaobang, the secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party, in June 1983, three years after he was formally named as the heir to the power at the 6th party convention in 1980.