UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.N. Development Program officials say there will be a full, external audit of programs in North Korea, after allegations last week money was siphoned.
"I think it's a good day for the United Nations," said Ad Melkert, associate administrator of UNDP, after an executive board meeting Thursday. "It's a good day for UNDP, because the agenda of transparency led by (Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon) will be brought further."
Reforms will be implemented before more projects are approved in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said Melkert.
The UNDP will no longer hire domestic workers through the North Korean government; instead it will hire workers directly, based on merit. It will also stop making payments in hard currency to the North Korean government, and will step up inspections of U.N.-funded projects, said Melkert.
He did not respond to questions about whether projects in North Korea should be put on hold until the audit is completed by the External Board of Auditors.
The secretary-general called for the audit immediately after allegations were raised by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations that UNDP money was being used by North Korea for its nuclear program.
The U.S. refuses to fund UNDP projects in North Korea, so it withholds a portion of its UNDP disbursement.
Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, acting U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, said the United States supports the audit.
"Our expectation is this is going to be a real, full, thorough, independent investigative audit to get to the bottom of the program and some of the concerns that we've had," said Wolff. "We hope to see the results, and that's what we're going to expect."
