Myanmar agrees to accept ASEAN cyclone aid

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Myanmar has agreed to let its South Asian neighbors send medical personnel and an assessment team to the cyclone-ravaged country, more than two weeks after a storm that killed tens of thousands of people.

Monday's decision came after an emergency meeting in Singapore of the 10 countries that make up ASEAN -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said.

The top U.N. aid official, John Holmes, toured the worst-hit areas of the country Monday and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday in an attempt to "accelerate relief efforts."

The military junta that rules Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- has been strongly criticized by the United Nations and United States, among others, for its reluctance to let foreign aid workers into the country.

People in the worst-affected areas say they have received no help at all from their government, a CNN correspondent in the country has discovered.