Will oil for food

The latest on Maurice Strong:

The top UN envoy for North Korea, Maurice Strong, decided to suspend his work while investigators probe his ties to a South Korean businessman accused of wrongdoing in the UN oil-for-food scandal, a UN spokesman said Wednesday. Secretary General Kofi Annan is also reconsidering a policy that Strong and other part-time UN employees like him are not required to disclose their finances to avoid possible conflicts of interest, said associate spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Strong, a prominent Canadian businessman, is the UN point man on stalled six-country talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. He denies any involvement with the $64 billion US oil-for-food program in Iraq and has pledged to co-operate with a probe into the program led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. But his admitted ties with Tongsun Park, a native of North Korea and citizen of South Korea, are raising questions about a possible conflict of interest with his UN role. Strong acknowledged on Monday that Park invested in an energy company he was associated with in 1997.

For those just joining us: Strong is also a close associate of and senior adviser to Prime Minister Martin. More info here.