WASHINGTON. Mar 2: NATO leaders will take up sometime next year the controversial question of which eastern or Central European nations to bring into the alliance. and when. Defence Secretary William Perry said Friday, reports AP

Perry made the remark at a signing ceremony In the Pentagon with Vilem Holan. defence minister of the Czech Republic, widely viewed as a leading candidate for member ship in the 16-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

th her likely candidates are Poland and Hungary

NATO foreign ministers meet in December to lay ground work for adding members. Perrv said. The next step, deciding ' who should be sdmttted and when," will follow tn 1997 he said