Bush authorizes 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil aid to N. Korea

U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday endorsed the provision of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of energy aid promised under the six-party talks in exchange for Pyongyang taking the second-phase denuclearization steps by the year's end.

The first shipment of the $25 million in aid is expected ''sometime in October,'' U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing, where he is attending the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs as the top U.S. delegate.

The U.S. aid follows that of South Korea and China, which respectively provided the same amount of heavy fuel oil in July and this month for initial and second-phase denuclearization steps under a February six-party deal.

''This action is in accordance with the principle of 'action for action' under the six-party talks and demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the denuclearization'' of North Korea, said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

''The United States is now pressing for a rapid implementation of the next phase,'' Johndroe said, noting that North Korea has recently committed in a meeting with the United States to completing the second-phase steps by the year's end.

Under the February accord, North Korea is to receive aid equivalent to up to 100,0000 tons of heavy fuel -- 50,000 tons for taking the initial steps and 950,000 tons in the second phase for disabling all of its existing nuclear facilities and declaring all of its nuclear programs.

North Korea got 50,000 tons from South Korea in July for implementing the initial steps of shutting down and sealing its Yongbyon nuclear facilities and accepting International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.

China completed its aid shipment this month for the second phase as the six-party talks began this week in Beijing in a bid to craft a road map for disablement and declaration.

Though Russia is expected to provide 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil in November, Johndroe noted that Japan ''will not participate in the provision of energy assistance...unless the DPRK addresses the abductions issue.'' DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

Tokyo says it will join in no aid unless progress is made toward resolving the issue of North Korea's decades-old abductions of Japanese nationals.