North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living at a coastal villa since mid-May and is probably convalescing after reportedly suffering a stroke last year, a newspaper said today, citing US and South Korean intelligence.

North Korea appears to be preparing to test an advanced missile designed to reach the United States, a US official said, ratcheting up tensions after its second nuclear blast.

North Korea has moved its most advanced long-range missile to a new launch site and has banned ships from the waters off its west coast until the end of July, it was reported today.

Chinese fishing boats were pulling out of the Yellow Sea possibly in fear of military clashes between North and South Korea, it was reported today.

PICTURES of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il issued by the communist state may be several months old and possibly taken before his reported illness, South Korean media have said, raising more questions about his health.

North Korea fired two short-range missiles into its coastal waters, a move believed to be part of regular military drills, South Korean military officials said today.

A North Korean spy slipped into South Korea among the crowds of defectors fleeing the impoverished communist state, it was reported.

SECRETIVE North Korea finally admitted last night that several hundred people were killed and thousands injured when trains carrying explosives and blew up in a station.

North Korea was maintaining its cloak of silence today over the crash between two North Korean fuel trains that is believed to have killed or injured as many as 3,000 people.

BONO and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will address the World Newspaper Congress, which will held here for the first time in June.

As the death toll from the South Korea subway arson attack rose to at least 125 today, relatives of the victims have expressed anger at the official response to the tragedy.