BACK IN WASHINGTON

Trying to calm Republican congressional critics of the U.S.-North Korea nuclear deal today, Defense Secretary William Perry said that the alternative to the $4 billion accord is heightened military tension in the region. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole had said the Senate might question the "legality and wisdom of aiding North Korea." Perry also said that North Korea has been keeping promises to halt its nuclear program, even during tense negotiations over the fate of Bobby Hall.