▲ Kim Jong Il (R) and a female compatriot (L) step out of a limousine at the beginning of their visit to Panda Electronics in Nanjing, China on the 24th

Kim Jong Il may be adept at blocking use of the internet in his own country, but China is a different story, as proven by the appearance on video-hosting service ‘Youku’ yesterday of a video apparently showing the diminutive North Korean dictator visiting an electronics company in Nanjing.

A ‘netizen’ uploaded the video, entitled ‘Video of Kim Jong Il Visiting Nanjing Panda’, on the site at around lunchtime.

The three-minute video shows a posse of suited security agents and others busily preparing for Kim’s arrival at the front of the building. There are a number of news photographers and cameramen present, and the red carpet has been unfurled.

Next, in the lee of a fast-moving group of black automobiles and a minibus, a black limousine pulls up in front of the building. From it, Kim Jong Il himself, clad in his customary grey, appears. A girl waits with a bouquet of flowers, which she presents. After a couple of photos, Kim enters the building.

Meanwhile, from the other side of the limousine a woman appearing to be in her 40s has emerged. Wearing a yellow-green top, black skirt and white shoes, the woman passes to one side of the crowd and silently follows Kim into the building.

This woman may well have been Kim’s fourth wife, Kim Ok. She was also present when Kim met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last May.

The netizen, ‘daney 927’, commented on the uploaded video page, “Today I had the good fortune of being able to see the shape of Kim Jong Il.”

Following his morning visit to Panda Electronics, Kim left Nanjing for Beijing.