North Korea blamed the United States and Japan on Tuesday with tarnishing its image at the United Nations and said a UN agency was in on a plot to "spread sheer lies". The UN Development Programme (UNDP) said last week it had suspended operations in North Korea after Pyongyang failed to agree to changes demanded by the United States and others, who allege funds were being diverted to the communist government.
"The US has spread sheer lies about the DPRK's (North Korea's) 'diversion of UNDP's programme fund' since the outset of the year in a bid to tarnish the international image of the DPRK," the official KCNA news agency cited an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
Secretive and impoverished North Korea often launches heated rhetorical volleys when it feels slighted or when it has been chastised by international organisations for its bad behaviour. The ministry spokesman said Japan had tried to sway other countries to join the United States and the UNDP had deliberately ignored its questions.
"The DPRK does not care about whether it receives small assistance from the UNDP or not but it will not tolerate even a bit any foolish attempt to hurt its dignity," the spokesman said.