On the existence of 3- and 4-kernels in digraphs

Let $D=(V\left(D\right),A\left(D\right))$ be a digraph. A subset $S?V\left(D\right)$ is $k$-independent if the distance between every pair of vertices of $S$ is at least $k$, and it is $?$-absorbent if for every vertex $u$ in $V\left(D\right)?S$ there exists $v\in S$ such that the distance from $u$ to $v$ is less than or equal to $?$. A $k$-kernel is a $k$-independent and $(k?1)$-absorbent set. A kernel is simply a $2$-kernel.A classical result due to Duchet states that if every directed cycle in a digraph $D$ has at least one symmetric arc, then $D$ has a kernel. We propose a conjecture generalizing this result for $k$-kernels and prove it true for $k=3$ and $k=4$.