European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 24, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday june 24, 1994 the stars and stripes Page 5 army sgt. Michael Lopez of san Antonio bounces a volleyball off his head in front of a Large United nations logo in Panmunjom in the korean demilitarized zone on thursday. S. Korea asks North to Inch closer to Deal Seoul South Korea apr South Korea on thursday welcomed North koreans Promise to freeze its nuclear program but asked its communist rival to go one step further to resolve the nuclear standoff. Foreign minister Han Sung Joo urged North Korea to also allow . Inspectors to examine two Sites where the North is suspected of making nuclear weapons. A we believe that a foundation has been Laid for a negotiated settlement a he told reporters. The International atomic Energy Agency the . Nuclear watchdog in Vienna Austria says a Check of the Sites could prove whether the North has diverted plutonium that could be used in nuclear arms. For 15 months the North has refused to allow full inspections of its nuclear Sites though it asserts that its program is peaceful. It said As recently As last week that it would never open the two Sites. President Clinton announced wednesday that North Korea had formally promised to freeze its nuclear program in Exchange for a resumption of High level talks with Washington on improving relations. _ North Korea has no formal ties with the United states which is closely Allied with pro Western South Korea. The United states had asked the North to confirm an offer it made to former president Carter during his four Day visit to North koreans capital Pyongyang last week. North Korea replied that during the freeze it would not reprocess spent fuel from a nuclear reactor or refuel the reactor Clinton said. The North also promised to Honor the nuclear nonproliferation treaty he said. North Korea had announced its withdrawal from the worlds main nuclear controls treaty in Early 1993 but suspended that decision a few months later after talks with the United states. The tone and nature of the North korean response were far More accommodating than in the past . Officials in Seoul said. They said North Korea avoided its usual polemics and also pledged to observe the treaty without conditions instead of the a special status it has claimed previously. On wednesday North Korea accepted a South korean proposal for a meeting next week to plan an unprecedented Summit Between their presidents a another development stemming from Carters visit. Senate approves Deal of splitting c-17 costs Washington apr the air Force c-17 transport plane survived another attack on Capitol Hill As the Senate upheld a Pentagon Deal to Settle Price and performance disputes with the builder. In a 66-32 vote wednesday evening the Senate endorsed a settlement in which Mcdonnell Douglas corp. And the taxpayers would share hundreds of Mil Lions of dollars in disputed costs. The vote rejected an amendment by sen. Charles Grassley a Iowa to the fiscal 1995 defense budget that would have removed the settlement provision from the Bill. The vote marked a Victory for the Clinton administration and for Mcdonnell Douglas the nations largest defense contractor which builds the huge cargo plane in Southern California. The c-17, beset by problems including faulty Wing construction Cost overruns and an outdated design system has won every key Challenge this year in the House and Senate. The settlement reached earlier this year requires the government to  $348 million in disputed costs and Mcdonnell Douglas to cover $454 million. Con Gressional approval is needed to put the settlement into effect. Supporters of the administration position called the settlement crucial to saving a key ingredient in making sure that a shrinking military is Alric to reach Distant battlefields. Grassley called it a a bailout for Mcdonnell  citing a report by the general accounting office the investigative Arm of Congress Grassley said the out of pocket costs to Mcdonnell Douglas would be Only $16 million one tenth of the figure reached in the settlement. A we had Mcdonnell Douglas Over a barrel a grass Ley said. A now it is the taxpayers who happen to be Over a  the Grassley amendment was rejected As the Senate began consideration of a $263.3 billion defense spending plan for 1995 recommended by the armed services committee. The Bill contains $2.8 billion for six c-17s, including the $348 million needed to  the governments share of the settlement. The House two weeks ago passed its version of the 1995 defense budget including funding for six c-i7s. The House Hill contains no language endorsing the Pentagon settlement. Under the settlement the government we Ould buy a total of 40 c-17s for $21.3 billion or about $534 million each. The Pentagon would decide in late 1995 whether to buy More. Iron can Boston apr you say you re too old to get in shape find another excuse. A study released thursday backs up the Maxim that its never too late. Extra strength can improve the lives of people in their late 80s and 90s, the study said. Researchers dedicated the study to their oldest Volunteer a former dentist who pumped Iron for four years until he died at 101. The researchers found that frail nursing Home residents in their 80s and 90s got around faster climbed stairs better and sometimes even were Able to Swap their walkers for canes after a few weeks of lifting weights. A the results of this study suggest that a healthier aging process can be achieved but Only by working at it a or. Edward w. Campion said in an editorial in the new England journal of Medicine which published the research. The study involved 100 men and women who appeared to be typical of frail nursing Home residents. Their average age was 87, and about one third were in their 90s. Half were demented and Many suffered from a variety of other ills including arthritis lung disease and High blood pressure. They were randomly assigned to participate in Ordinary nursing Home activities or to work out vigorously for 45 minutes three times a week. They used exercise machines to strengthen their thighs and Knees. Those who exercised increased their walking Speed by 12 percent and their ability to climb stairs by 28 per cent. Four who needed walkers to get around became Able to walk with just a Cane. A people have an unduly negative attitude about what can be done with those at the end of their lives. We need to be More optimistic a said the study a director or. Maria a. Fiatarone of the . Department of agriculture human nutrition research Center at Tufts University in Medford mass. The work was a much larger follow up to a groundbreaking study four years ago by the same team. That report which involved Only 10 people showed that working out strengthens aging Muscles. The new study suggests one reason the elderly grow chair bound is that their Muscles arc weak from Lack of exercise and working out regularly can change this. Or. Evan Hadley associate director for geriatrics at the National Institute on aging recommended that nursing Homes Start exercise programs similar to the Well supervised routine used by the Tufts group. A if done the Way this was this could Benefit substantial numbers of older people a he said. Fiatarone said that since most of the participants had already lived Well beyond the average life expectancy the goal was not to make them live longer. Instead it was to improve the Quality of the life they had remaining for such people just being Able to walk from the bed to the bathroom without supervision can be an important change she said. Poll finds Little sympathy for haitians new York apr the american Public is largely disengaged from the plight of haitians in contrast to the tendency to rally around a president when he faces Down threats to democracy abroad an associated press poll found. Six in 10 want fewer refugees from Haiti to enter the United states according to the poll. Although president Clinton has not ruled out invading the Caribbean nation to restore democratically elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide 54 percent oppose such intervention. Twenty eight percent support intervention and 18 percent Are Uncertain. Only 13 percent want to Send troops now. Even among those who favor intervention most do not want an immediate invasion. Past polls have indicated that most americans simply done to see vital . Interests at stake in Haiti. An alternative explanation is that the Public fears a drawn out involvement such As Vietnam but the poll found 64 percent confident the United states would avoid that Fate. The latest poll was conducted by ice Survey research group of Media pa., part of aus consultants. The group interviewed a random National Sample of 1,003 adults from june 15-19. Those were the first five Days of a . Policy that gives haitian boat people intercepted at sea a Chance to seek Asylum in the United slates by arguing that they Are fleeing political persecution. The processing of Asylum applications on ships and in third countries was Clinton s Compromise with those who criticized him for sending haitians Home As economic refugees who Are ineligible for Asylum. As a candidate in 1992, Clinton criticized president Bush for that same policy. The Public a rating of Clinton a handling of Haiti is far from settled with 34 percent approving 41 percent disapproving and an unusually Large 25 percent not sure. On wednesday Clinton ordered american financial institutions to freeze assets of All haitians still residing in Haiti. Airline flights and Money transfers will be sharply curbed starting today