A U.S. think tank plans to close next month following the South Korean government's decision to cut off funding, the institute's director said Tuesday.

Director Ku Jae of the U.S.-Korea Institute(USKI) of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies(SAIS) told Yonhap News on Tuesday that SAIS Dean Vali Nasr on Monday notified USKI Chairman Robert Gallucci and him of the decision to close the institute on May eleventh.

The decision came after the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy affiliated with the Prime Minister's Office decided to stop funding the institute starting in June, citing problems with transparency in accounting and the selection of visiting scholars and interns.

However, USKI Chairman Gallucci claimed there had been pressure from the South Korean presidential office to oust the institute's director Ku, due to his conservative inclinations that were out of line with the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.

Meanwhile, North Korea monitoring Web site 38 North, which has been managed by the think tank, will reportedly continue operations independently with donations from the Carnegie Trust.

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