Yangon: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today said he would meet Myanmar's reclusive junta leader during a high-profile trip to convince the country to accept a full-scale cyclone relief operation.

Ban landed in neighbouring Thailand on the eve of a visit aimed at getting the regime of Senior General Than Shwe to welcome more outside help for two million needy survivors of Cyclone Nargis.

There has been an international uproar over the limits on the aid operation imposed by Myanmar since the storm, which has left at least 133,000 people dead or missing in the country 's worst natural disaster ever.

Ban had failed to get Than Shwe to take his calls in the wake of the May 2-3 storm, but said he now expected to meet him during the three-day trip and stressed that the issue of aid for Myanmar should not be politicised.

"Our focus is on saving lives," he said. "This is a critical moment for Myanmar."

Ban reiterated a UN warning that only 25 percent of those in need had been reached by international aid. "I hope we will be able to scale up these relief efforts," he said.

Before leaving New York on Tuesday, Ban said the junta had agreed to let nine UN helicopters work in remote regions hit hard by the storm.

But the United Nations and aid groups say the relief operation has been far short of what is required. Many survivors are still without enough food, water, shelter or medical care nearly three weeks after the storm hit.

Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party said relief work in the hardest-hit areas had not "been performed competently" and called on the UN to take a greater role in delivering aid.

Source : PTI