By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (Reuters) - Members of the executive board of the U.N. Development Program would like the agency to resume its work in communist North Korea, from which it pulled out last year amid U.S. charges of financial mismanagement. According to an internal UNDP summary of comments made by members of the agency's board during a two-week meeting in Geneva last month obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, board members expressed "broad support for the resumption of UNDP activities in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)." But they called for implementation of recommendations aimed at improving the UNDP's transparency and accountability to avoid a repeat of mistakes uncovered in North Korea. The accuracy of the UNDP's summary was confirmed by several national diplomats familiar with the Geneva meeting. The UNDP, the United Nations' New York-based global development agency, suspended its operations and withdrew staff from North Korea in March 2007 after Pyongyang made it clear that it would not implement required changes to its relationship with the UNDP in order to boost transparency. Those changes were called for by the UNDP's 36-nation board after the United States said some of the hard currency UNDP spent in North Korea had ended up in the hands of Pyongyang-linked entities abroad that the United States has said are suspected of money laundering and arms dealing. U.S. officials also said the agency had engaged in sloppy accounting, given cash to North Korean bodies without proper documentation and hired staff handpicked by the government. A recent independent investigation found that UNDP had made mistakes, including violation of its hiring rules, but uncovered no proof of major wrongdoing. While many UNDP board members urged the agency to resume work in North Korea, it did not make a formal decision to do so, diplomats familiar with the meeting said. A decision is expected when the board meets again in September, they said. U.S. STILL CONCERNED The summary, however, said that "one delegation expressed ongoing concern about some of the findings of the report regarding perceived deficiencies in management." Diplomats said this was the U.S. delegation, but added that Washington was not alone in raising concerns about the report's findings. Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, made it clear that Washington had doubts about whether UNDP was ready to return to North Korea. "There has to be changes to the way the UNDP works in these countries," he said. "Otherwise we won't have confidence in the UNDP's intended purpose." A European diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity that North Korea's decision last week to hand in a declaration of its nuclear programs showed that there has been some real, albeit limited, improvement in North Korean behavior. "It's worth the risk for the UNDP go back and help (North Korea's) people," he said. Indirectly criticizing Washington, many board members expressed regret at the money spent pursuing the U.S. allegations beyond an initial audit, saying the money could have been spent in the UNDP's programs, the summary said. However, delegations welcomed the recommendations for improved UNDP accountability, transparency and oversight. "They encouraged UNDP to move swiftly to implement them, noting that the panel had found instances not in line with rules relating to financial and procurement procedures," the summary said. (Editing by Eric Beech)
A resident clears weed along the coastline of Qingdao, Shandong province July 1, 2008. China's Olympic co-host city Qingdao has appealed for help from nearby ports to contain an algae bloom ...
