PRESS CONFERENCE ON SUSPENSION OF AID TO DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The decision by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to suspend its $3 million-a-year programme in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by the end of this week was not linked to next Monday’s expected opening of an independent audit into its operations there, a spokesman for the agency said at Headquarters today.

Setting out the chronology of events leading up to the pull-out, announced in a letter posted on the agency’s website late last Friday, UNDP Communications Director David Morrison said the United States had raised “very serious concerns” with the agency’s top leadership about oversight of UNDP projects in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  The agency took those concerns very seriously and had announced in mid-January that, by 1 March, it would stop cash payments to local staff, partners and vendors, and discontinue the practice of allowing the Government to recruit national staff.  The agency also said it would launch an independent audit into its operations and put in place appropriate mechanisms to monitor the execution of all its programmes in that country.

On 25 January, UNDP’s Executive Board -- which included the United States, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan and 33 other nations -- had agreed to a set of conditions that would have kept the agency operating in the country.  But when it had become clear that certain of those conditions -– those regarding staff payment and hiring practices -- could not be met by 1 March, UNDP had announced on 2 March its decision to suspend operations and withdraw all but two of its 22 staff in the country.

“So let me be very clear that the timing of the suspension of the programme is unrelated to the external audit, it is linked only to the provisions set out in the agreement of our Executive Board,” Mr. Morrison said, stressing that, after a meeting with the authorities on 1 March, it had become clear that “we could not be in compliance with the conditions set out by our own Executive Board”.

He continued:  “It became clear in our exchanges with the [North] Korean Government that there was a desire to reopen issues that we considered non-negotiable and in that circumstance we had no choice.”  Besides ending all hard-currency payments and discontinuing the sub-contracting of national staff via Government recruitment as of 1 March, the conditions adopted by the UNDP Executive Board included adjusting the content of current programmes to support sustainable human development goals.

UNDP spending in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea over the past 10 years totalled $47.5 million, of which 40 to 60 per cent was spent in the country, he said, referring reporters to the agency’s website, which features a press release containing the specific details of the drawdown.  Out of the current nine international staff in Pyongyang –- eight UNDP personnel and one UNDP-administered staffer –- seven would leave the country by 17 March, including the Resident Representative.  Two international staff, the Deputy Resident Representative and the Operations Manager, would be left behind to complete the suspension and support the independent external audit.  UNDP was also putting in place measures for the safekeeping of records left in Pyongyang to ensure their availability to the auditors.

In the ensuing exchange with reporters, Mr. Morrison said that, while UNDP had been operating in a “challenging” environment, agency staff did visit project sites, contrary to press reports.  The agency had been looking at a variety of specific modalities to ensure national staff were on UNDP contracts like others around the world.

Asked to describe some of the agency’s projects in the country, he highlighted its work in gathering statistics on the Millennium Development Goals, biodiversity and food security.  Despite UNDP’s suspension of activities, other organizations, particularly humanitarian agencies, would remain in the country providing relief.

As for the impending audit, Mr. Morrison said no one wished to shine the full light of transparency on UNDP’s operations more than the agency itself.  “We support the audit, we called for it and we’re looking forward to the audit report,” he added.

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For information media • not an official record