North Korea's top legislator Kim Yong-nam has arrived in Beijing for a three-day official visit to China.

Talks with Chinese leaders on the stalled six-party negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue are expected to top the agenda on Kim Yong-nam 's first visit to China since June 1999.

The head of North Korea's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and China's top legislator Wu Bangguo during his stay.

He is also scheduled to visit a science park in Beijing that has been dubbed as China's Silicon Valley.

Kim Yong-nam's arrival precedes a visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is scheduled to visit Japan, China and South Korea later this week.

(CRI October 18, 2004)