NORTH KOREA . . . KIM'S GONE, TALKS ON

National Security Adviser Tony Lake said North Korean officials "went out of their way" in the past few days to assure the U.S. that talks over their nuclear program will happen soon. Today's funeral for lifetime leader Kim Il Sung was the last stage of mourning necessary for the meetings to resume, Lake said, and U.S. officials expect they'll soon be dealing with his son, the big-haired enigma, Kim Jong Il.ARGENTINA . . . WAS THE BOMB BLAST REVENGE? The blowing up of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires yesterday may have been retaliation for Israel's gains against Hizballah, the Iran-backed terrorist group, according to Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In June, Israel bombed Hizballah's training base in Lebanon, killing 26 guerrillas and wounding 40. After the attack, TIME reported that Hizballah leader Hussein Musawi had promised revenge "perhaps in Europe and America.'' Iran has denied involvement in the Buenos Aires attack, which killed 26 people and injured over 120. Agents of Israel's intelligence service, MOSSAD, are helping Argentina in the investigation.