Several requests by humanitarian aid groups for UN approval to ship aid to North Korea were suspended, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The UN Security Council has unanimously tightened sanctions against North Korea since 2006 to cut off funding for Pyongyang's ballistic missile programs, but the sanctions also stipulate that relief groups can request exemptions for humanitarian aid.
The relief groups' requests are submitted to the North Korea's sanctions committee on the Security Council with unanimous approval.
However, the committee's documents indicate that a request by a US-based charity in September and requests by an Irish-based organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in August were disrupted, because Washington asked for more time to consider those requests.
There is no need for the United States to give the Committee a reason to request additional time, while the United States Mission to the United Nations has yet to respond to a request for comment.
The UN Security Council's sanctions committee in August issued a new memorandum to UN member states requesting "a clear explanation" of how to apply for exemption for humanitarian aid.
