U.N. agency suspends North Korea work

NEW YORK, March 6 (UPI) -- The United Nations Development Program has suspended North Korean operations amid complaints money was being diverted to the country's government.

The program announced the suspension Monday saying North Korea failed to meet conditions set after the accusations of money being diverted from the U.N. programs to the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

"We have decided to suspend our operations, and the ball is really now in the court of the D.P.R. Korean authorities," said David Morrison, director of communications for the agency, referring to the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The conditions, which had a March 1 deadline, would have required the government to cease taking hard currency payments from the United Nations program and allow the U.N.'s in-country hiring to proceed without government approval.

The program's administrator, Kemal Dervis, said in a letter to a North Korean ambassador: "Should circumstances change at a later date, we would be willing to reconsider this position."