U.S. Waives Condition for N. Korean Aid

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration sent a strong message to North Korea on Wednesday in deciding that the U.S. cannot be sure whether the government in Pyongyang, the capital, is adhering to a 1994 agreement that froze its nuclear weapons program.

The White House opted to tell Congress that it cannot "certify" North Korea on compliance--as Congress requires before releasing money for aid to North Korea--because it is not satisfied that Pyongyang is serious about making new nuclear inspection arrangements, officials said.

But the administration gave the North Koreans some respite, waiving the congressional requirement on national security grounds and agreeing to press on with its side of the agreement by shipping 500,000 tons of fuel oil this year to North Korea.

The deliveries are to continue until two light-water nuclear reactors are installed in North Korea. The reactors are not of a type that can produce weapons-grade plutonium.