Burma 'will let all aid in' says UN chief after breakthrough meeting with military ruler

Ban Ki-moon convinced General Shwe to fully open his country’s doors to cyclone relief after being left "very upset" by the devastation he had seen.

Yesterday Mr Ban saw flooded rice fields and villages destroyed by the May 2 disaster, which left 134,000 dead or missing.

Help: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has convinced Burma's junta to let all aid in

He also expressed dismay following a guided tour of a “show” relief camp by junta officers who have dragged their heels over accepting aid since Cyclone Nargis hit.

But, following his private meeting with General Than, Mr Ban announced a breakthrough, saying: "I had a very good meeting with the Senior General and particularly on these aid workers,"

"He has agreed to allow all aid workers"

The military supremo had previously failed to answer the UN chief’s phone calls and letters.

Supremo: General Than Shwe had previously refused to take calls from Mr Ban

And earlier in the day it looked as though the deadlock would remain after Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein told Mr Ban that the relief phase of the aid operation was over and that the government was now focusing on reconstruction.

The secretary general's visit has won backing from the United States.

"We are certainly supportive of what Ban Ki-moon is doing," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

"We are working through the Chinese, through the Asean countries, we are using every means to try to get in."

Devastation: Mr Ban said he was 'very upset' to see so many flooded rice fields

UK Foreign Secretary David Milliband said: "The tragedy is that, for some people it is already too late, and it is certainly too little compared to the needs, but we have got to use the opportunity that exists.

"We've got to keep pushing that door open and working to ensure that those desperate people get the help that they need."

Mr Ban arrived in Burma yesterday and visited a relief camp in the Irrawaddy Delta, where 2.5million people have been affected.

A UN official privately called it a "show camp".

But Mr Ban told a woman: "I am so sorry, but don't lose your hope."

"The United Nations is here to help you. The whole world is trying to save Burma."

View: Mr Ban looking down from the air

Mr Ban told reporters he was "very upset" by the devastation he had seen.

"Many human lives have been lost, houses are destroyed, roads and streets are washed away, and all rice paddies flooded with water,” he said.

“I'm very much concerned. These farmers may lose their planting season.”

Mr Ban told the prime minister that the disaster was beyond Burma's ability to handle on its own and that foreign aid experts should be rushed in.

He said: "The United Nations and all the international community stand ready to help to overcome the tragedy.”

He said relief work would have to continue for many more months.

The UN estimates that only a quarter of the 2.5million Burmese affected by the cyclone have received the help they need.

Aid: Mr Ban greets a cyclone victim during a visit to a 'show' camp

The Red Cross has said that in districts further south-west of those shown to Mr Ban, waterways were still clogged with corpses and that many people had received no aid.

Many victims were forced to drink water from puddles, while children and old people have suffered from dysentery, dengue fever and dehydration, doctors say.

The generals have agreed that some UN helicopters can join the aid effort, but British, French and American naval vessels are still standing by off the Irrawaddy Delta, having been refused access to the area.

The first of 10 helicopters to be sent by the UN's World Food Programme arrived in Burma on Thursday, and will be used to ferry supplies to remote areas.

Victims: Refugees at the Kyondah camp line up outside their tents

The government has also agreed to allow in more foreign aid workers from its Asian neighbours.

Mr Ban is due to attend a donor conference in Burma's commercial capital, Rangoon, on Sunday.