Beijing  - North Korean Premier Kim Yong Il arrived Tuesday in China for talks at which Chinese leaders were expected to press North Korea to resume dialogue on ending its nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea's ministers of agriculture, foreign trade, culture and metallurgy are accompanying Kim on his five-day visit, Chinese state media said.

The foreign ministry said that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao would discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues with Kim, whose trip is timed to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Geneva - North Korea's implementation of human rights was "grim, and the situation remains dire and desperate," a special United Nations expert on the isolated country said Monday, calling for immediate policy changes to ameliorate food shortages.

Some 8.7 million people, of an estimated population of 23 million, were deemed to be food insecure, UN studies have shown, but only 1.8 million were receiving food assistance, mostly through the World Food Programme.

Seoul  - North Korea said Monday that it would allow hundreds of South Koreans stranded at a joint industrial park for three days to leave the country.

But Pyongyang was still balking at allowing South Korean commuters to travel back and forth over the heavily guarded inter-Korean border to the park at Kaesong, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said.

Tokyo(Japan), Mar. 15 : North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, it seems, not only wants to test his missiles, but also fancies eating ravioli and pasta regularly.

So deep is his love for Italian cuisine, that he has ordered the opening of North Korea's first "authentic" Italian restaurant and reportedly spared nothing in getting the recipe right.

According to the New York Daily News, though North Korea is plagued by food shortages, it has ordered the import of wheat, flour, butter and cheese from Italy for the eatery.

Beijing  - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday urged North Korea and other nations involved in talks on its nuclear weapons programme to exercise restraint and "refrain from taking actions that may escalate tensions."

"We hope that parties involved in the six-party talks will further build consensus," Wen said ahead of planned talks next week with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong Il.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday North Korea's plan to launch a communication satellite would raise tensions with its neighbours.