Nominee Takes Hard Line on N. Korea : Arms: Defense secretary-designate Perry tells Senate panel that Pyongyang faces sanctions if it does not submit to weapons inspections.

Defense Secretary-designate William J. Perry warned Wednesday that the Clinton Administration is almost out of patience with North Korea over its refusal to submit to international weapons inspections and might soon seek imposition of economic sanctions.

Perry’s remarks, echoed by the State Department, came in testimony at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He cautioned that if North Korea remains recalcitrant, the Administration might have to decide on the sanctions question “very soon.”

The new, tougher language followed a series of signals from North Korea that, in the view of American officials, show Pyongyang’s unwillingness to go along with international inspection efforts, despite assurances a week ago that it was ready to cooperate.

Goaded by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who charged that the Administration is concentrating on “appeasement” of North Korea when it should be wielding “sticks,” Perry snapped: “There are sticks downstream also.”

He then pointed to the possibility of sanctions.

In a later exchange, McCain suggested that the Administration intensify American pressure on China to stop its human rights violations.

Perry replied that the Administration hopes to persuade China to pressure North Korea on the nuclear front.

Although he fully supports the human rights issue, Perry said, “it . . . will pale in comparison with the prospects of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.”

The warning by Perry came in an otherwise routine hearing with the committee, in which senators made it clear that he will win confirmation easily.

The panel is expected to endorse his nomination today in time for quick Senate approval.

North Korea’s behavior has embarrassed the Administration.

Last week, senior Administration officials announced an agreement under which North Korea would begin to comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

But since then, the North Koreans have resumed their defiance of American wishes, feigning ignorance about inspection procedures and threatening to withdraw from the treaty again--the same action that, early last year, precipitated the current conflict with the United States.

A few minutes after Perry spoke, State Department spokesman Mike McCurry called the North Korean actions “provocative.”

He too warned that the “diplomatic path” the United States has been pursuing “is not an endless path.”

Perry’s testimony on Wednesday ranged over an array of defense and national security issues, designed partly to show that the 66-year-old former engineering professor is not just a narrow-interest technology and procurement specialist, as some critics have implied.

In prepared testimony, he also pointedly listed five broad defense issues--ranging from overseeing military operations and maintaining readiness to setting broad strategy and deciding budget issues--as major responsibilities, with priority over technology and acquisition.

And, in a conspicuous reference to the refusal by departing Defense Secretary Les Aspin last autumn to send tanks to back up American troops in Somalia, Perry pledged “to provide the required support (to U.S. military commanders) as they direct our forces in the field.”

His performance appeared to delight committee members, many of whom praised his articulate answers and grasp of issues.