North Korea to Reduce Scale of Foreign NGOs

The ITAR-Tass Russian News Agency reported Saturday that North Korea will reduce the number and scale of foreign NGOs by the end of 2004, which are actively working in Pyongyang as their headquarters.

According to the report, North Korea’s Foreign Office is selecting the NGOs to expel from the country, and relatively small-scale NGOs will be the first target of the reduction.

It was alleged that North Korea made such a decision because members of some NGOs are engaged in works other than humanitarian aid. However, a diplomatic source from North Korea conveyed that large-scale NGOs, such as the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO), will be allowed to stay to work in the country.