North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff: letter

[webfact]

North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff: letter

By Michelle Nichols

 

FILE PHOTO - A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Picture

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea has told the United Nations to cut the number of international staff it deploys in the country because the world body's programs have failed "due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces," according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

 

The United Nations estimates 10.3 million people - almost half the country's population - are in need and some 41 percent of North Koreans are undernourished, while Pyongyang said in February it was facing a food shortfall this year and had to halve rations, blaming drought, floods and sanctions.

 

"U.N. supported programs failed to bring the results as desired due to the politicization of U.N. assistance by hostile forces," Kim Chang Min, secretary general for North Korea's National Coordinating Committee for the United Nations, wrote to the top U.N. official posted in the country.

 

In the Aug. 21 letter, Kim said the number of international staff should be cut by the end of the year.

 

North Korea wants the number of international staff with the U.N. Development Programme to be cut to one or two from six, the World Health Organization to four from six and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) to cut its 13 staff by one or two.

 

Kim said the number of international staff with the World Food Programme should be reduced "according to the amount of food aid to be provided" once the agency and North Korean agree how to implement a plan for 2019 to 2021.

 

There was also no need for a humanitarian aid coordination officer, Kim wrote, adding that U.N. aid officials could instead "visit as and when required."

The United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

"Historically there's been a critical lack of international expertise and oversight and capacity to monitor the use of the assistance that is provided," said a U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

"We're deeply surprised by this turn of events in part because this is when the needs have grown and the U.N. has been trying to mobilise support to scale up assistance in country," the diplomat said.

 

The move comes amid stalled talks between the United States and North Korea aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for those programs.

 

"The North Korean government's decisions are only hurting the North Korean people," said a second U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

"This is coming at a time where both Russia and China are pushing a false narrative that sanctions are causing the humanitarian problems in North Korea and the only way to solve that is to give North Korea sanctions relief," the diplomat said.

 

Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters on Tuesday that unilateral sanctions imposed on North Korea by other countries and some strict interpretations of U.N. sanctions were hindering humanitarian work.

 

"The population of North Korea should not suffer under those sanctions that have been imposed illegitimately," he said.

 

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-05

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[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Kim said the number of international staff should be cut by the end of the year.

Looks to be a cut of seven people.

UN, please withdraw these people ASAP or Kim will "cut" them himself.

In fact withdraw everyone as they present possible hostages with (as Kim has shown) no guarantee that North Korea will evict them in a conscious well-being state.

[grumpy 4680]

        Poor old Kim, he will have to cut back on his opulent life style, The money he spends on luxuries would feed the the whole population. They don't need aid.

[UnkleGoooose]

Things are bad when even Lil Kim has realized how pointless the UN is.

[Tug]

Pull them all out blockade that country and let the n Koreans take care of the sob then help the n korean people rejoin the world

[Dumbastheycome]

IMO it is indeed an incredibly poignant reversal of fact ! On one hand the UN numbers of well funded agencies who are present in  places  such as  NK are quite likely to  be over represented in  numbers of personel to  "moniter" and issue obvious negatives accorded to a localized  objectionable national regime and  yet   there is rare  mention in  media about identical issues that exist within the UN member nations that attempt to  prescribe  a level of  superior social  condition they do not genuinely  in reality have. But if  questioned  would  redirect cause as such to an influx of people creating the problem while deflecting, denying that those  same member  countries  with or  without UN  consensus  of "intervention" have  created the cause and effect.

That  NK  has  made  such a statement,  even if coming from an administration that is describable in terms

of familial  autocratic  dynasty, goes well  to exposing the motivations of the influential nations  which are devolving  into an equivalent  state  of temporary collective autocracy utilizing a well  heeled industry of

beaurocrats  assigned to legitimize a superior status based  on deceptions of democratic  conventions.

IMO If  nothing else this message  from North Korea is  valid in content , despite the invalidity  of the source in democratic concept, in that it questions the genuine  role of  the UN. Is it an subtle employment industry that  on suitable  occasion manages  to  issue  a consensus about  global issues  that increasingly  are  ignored  or is  it just a  name plate  on a corporate building?