Which is the corrrect choice for the blank below, having or to having? why?
World leaders turned a cautious eye to North Korea after the communist state admitted
having a secret nuclear program.
Admit something = you say that it is true (usually you are unwilling to say the truth but you have to say it as in the above sentence)
Admit to= to allow somebody to enter some place. Example: The security refused to admit him to the embassy.
is admitted to= is allowed to join an organisation, university etc.
Example: She was admitted to the graduate program at the university.
Conclusion:
The difference between "admit" and "admit to" is not a grammatical one but a lexical one.
