North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visits China

Officials in Seoul said Kim’s visit to north western China appeared to come ahead of a crucial meeting that may determine the succession of the secretive communist state.

However there have been no firm sightings of the 68-year-old, who is believed to be in poor health following a suspected stroke in 2008. However a hotel in the Chinese city of Jilin was under heavy police guard.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Kim was in Jilin province, where he had visited the south where Kim Il-sung had studied.

Analysts speculated whether Kim’s visit was to discuss new financial aid for his impoverished country, along with the succession issue. It is his second visit to China this year, unusual for a leader who rarely travels abroad.

The North Korean Workers’ Party (WPK) is holding a rare meeting next month, which could determine whether his son Kim Jong-un becomes the country’s next leader.

A presidential source told Reuters that Kim had travelled to China, but refused to comment on reports his son had made the trip.

“Kim Jong-il is travelling through China by train, but we have no information as to whether his son is accompanying him.”