Myanmar leader agrees to allow aid workers

YANGON, Myanmar, May 23 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon prevailed on Myanmar military leader Gen. Than Shwe Friday to let foreign workers in the country for cyclone relief work.

The 76-year-old reclusive senior general, whose secretive military junta has drawn intense global criticism for not allowing qualified and trained foreign workers to help in the relief effort, changed his mind after meeting with the U.N. chief in Myanmar's new capital of Naypyitaw.

The agreement, announced by Ban, came a day after Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein reportedly expressed his opinion to Ban that the relief phase from the cyclone devastation was over and it was time to begin reconstruction, Kyodo news service reported.

Ban announced he was pleased with the meeting and that aid workers from all nationalities would be permitted to enter the country, the BBC reported. But it wasn't clear how much access the aid workers will be allowed.

Myanmar's official figures say the May 2 Cyclone Nargis killed nearly 78,000 people. Another 55,917 are missing.

The United Nations says up to 2.5 million people are desperately in need of help because of the cyclne, while noting only about one-third of the relief supplies have reached the victims.