Pentagon officials said their plans did not mean that the Bush administration was prepared to unilaterally abandon the treaty at this point, noting that they could voluntarily constrain testing and construction activities before they violated the treaty next year.

The administration, this official said, has firmly ruled out offering North Korea any concessions until it unilaterally abandons its nuclear program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" way.

"There can be no question of us unilaterally abandoning the armed struggle," he said.

Even so, the administration has been cautious about pulling troops from Bosnia because of promises that it would not unilaterally abandon the alliance and its mission there.

Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d has said that Washington does not want to unilaterally abandon the accord because that would jeopardize the landmark American-Soviet agreements to slash strategic weapons.

To the Russians, it will appear that Mr. Bush, having gotten from them what he most needed, is unilaterally abandoning a treaty that they and our allies want to see continue.

It is equally clear no nation can unilaterally abandon current policies without being devastated by the policies of other countries.

At the same time, though, he warned that further Croatian aggression against Serbs could force Russia to abandon unilaterally the international sanctions that have been imposed on what is left of Yugoslavia: Serbia and Montenegro.

But Pentagon officials asserted that their plans did not mean the Bush administration was prepared to unilaterally abandon the treaty at this point.