The planned aid came as US news reports quoting intelligence sources suggested that North Korea could be helping Syria build a nuclear weapons program, raising concerns over Pyongyang's proliferation record.

Under an aid-for-disarmament program, China was expected to send 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil to its hardline communist neighbor this month to be followed by a similar US shipment, a US administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

US President George W. Bush's administration notified Congress on Tuesday "of its intent to provide 25 million dollars that would cover the third tranche shipment of 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil to North Korea," the official told AFP.

The US legislature has to be informed of any Washington aid to North Korea, which is currently under sanctions. Pyongyang, which tested a nuclear bomb in October last year, is also on a US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.

The first tranche of fuel aid was provided by South Korea in July after its northern neighbor closed its key Yongbyon nuclear plant as part of a six-nation agreement struck on February 13 that promised energy aid and diplomatic and security guarantees to Pyongyang if it abandons its nuclear arsenal.

"And China is preparing the second shipment of HFO (heavy fuel oil) likely in September," the US official said.

The Chinese and American shipments are expected to head to North Korea after it agrees to declare and disable its nuclear program at a six-party meeting in Beijing possibly next week among envoys from the two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Thursday confirmed the administration's notification to Congress, saying "this is something that is done with an eye toward if North Korea does in fact follow through on their commitment.

"So what it does is that it prepares us in the case that we do need to fulfill some commitment as part of the six party talks," he told reporters.

It was agreed among the six nations that North Korea would be rewarded with a total of one million tonnes of fuel oil or its equivalent if it completely disbands its nuclear program.

North Korea has a limited storage capacity for heavy fuel oil and it could accept only 50,000 tonnes at any one time.

Ahead of the six-party talks in Beijing, experts from the United States, China and Russia completed on Thursday a two-day visit to North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex, McCormack said.

They would discuss with officials in Pyongyang on Friday on how to disable the nuclear facilities.

Amid the flurry of efforts towards denuclearization, US news reports said North Korea may be helping Syria build some kind of nuclear facility.

The Israeli secret service relayed the information to the US government, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing unnamed intelligence sources.

The evidence includes satellite imagery that led some US officials to believe the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons, the Post said.

Israel recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The State Department reiterated Thursday its concerns over North Korean proliferation activities.

"Our publicly stated concerns about North Korean behavior, which ranges to proliferation, are out there," spokesman McCormack said, commenting on the reports.

"We said there are indications that they have made that strategic choice (to give up their nuclear weapons) although we have yet to see. We are hopeful that they have," he said.

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