The youngest son and heir apparent of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may visit China soon without his father, according to a South Korean government source, to get Beijing’s backing for his taking power.

“It looks as though Kim Jong-un will visit China alone,” said the source. “Intelligence suggests the visit might take place right after the Lunar New Year holiday, at the earliest.”

According to the source, preparations for the visit have been completed by the North Koreans, though there is no visible evidence like a beefing up of security around Jong-un. He accompanied Kim Jong-il on a sudden, unexpected trip to China last August.

“If Kim Jong-un does visit China, there is a likely chance that the trip will be kept under wraps,” the source said. “The [South Korean] government is focusing on his movements.”

The source said that Jong-un and his powerful uncle, Jang Song-thaek, were conspicuously absent from Kim Jong-il’s recent “field guidance trips,” which may have been because they were preparing for the China trip.

Jong-un was reported to have accompanied Kim on a field trip on Jan. 15, 21 days after his last reported appearance on Dec. 25. Jang Song-thaek, his uncle and Kim Jong-il’s No. 2 man, was reported as accompanying the Dear Leader on a Jan. 23 field trip. Jang’s last appearance was on New Year’s Eve.

If Jong-un makes the China trip, it will recall Kim Jong-il’s first solo visit to China in 1983 after he was named successor to his father Kim Il Sung in 1974.

South Korean analysts assume the visit will be for Jong-un to get acquainted with high-ranking Chinese officials, and vice versa, rather than for full-blown discussions on issues between China and North Korea.

During Kim Jong-il’s visit in June 1983, he met with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping along with other members of China’s leadership.

Kim Jong-un could be received by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his presumed successor Xi Jinping, said the government source.

North Korea kept a close record of Kim Jong-il’s visit in 1983, and a two-hour long documentary about the trip was aired nearly 30 times last year.

By Jeong Yong-soo [christine.kim@joongang.co.kr]

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Essential Vocabulary: heir: 계승자/the source: 제보자/successor: 계승자