Pyongyang wants UN staff numbers in North Korea reduced – report

North Korea wants the number of UN international staff in the country reduced by the end of the year over “the politicization of aid,” AP reported.

Kim Chang-min, secretary general of Pyongyang’s National Coordinating Committee, wrote a letter to the UN resident coordinator in North Korea. It said that in recent years, “UN supported programs failed to bring the results as desired due to the politicization of UN assistance by hostile forces.” However, the letter did not identify those parties.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday that “we’re in dialogue at this point on the issue of cutting international aid staff” in North Korea.

UN and international organizations reached over 2 million people with humanitarian aid in 2018, including food, nutrition and health projects, Dujarric said.