Burma's links with North Korea to dominate ASEAN summit

Back in 2006 Jotman blogged:

Nuclear weapons would give the Burmese military dictatorship a measure of security and international respect that it could not otherwise achieve, at a relatively low cost. Of all countries in the world, it may well be Myanmar that stands the most to gain and -- more importantly -- stands the least to lose by acquiring nuclear weapons.

Today the NY Times reports:

Declaring that she takes the reports of such cooperation “very seriously,” Mrs. Clinton said that expanded military ties between the countries would “pose a direct threat” to Myanmar’s neighbors. She singled out Thailand, an ally of the United States and the host of the regional meeting, as being vulnerable to the reclusive and heavily armed dictatorship in Myanmar.

Suspicions about North Korea’s relationship with Myanmar deepened recently when a North Korea freighter appeared to be steaming toward Myanmar. American officials, believing the ship might be carrying weapons or other illicit cargo, tracked it until it reversed course.

North Korea is already suspected of supplying Myanmar with small arms and ammunition, but some intelligence analysts contend that North Korea is also helping Myanmar pursue a nuclear weapons program. They cite as possible evidence newly published photos circulated by Burmese dissident groups of what some analysts assert are a network of giant tunnels outside Myanmar’s jungle capital, Naypyidaw, built with help from North Korean engineers.

Mrs. Clinton did not say whether the Obama administration shares suspicions about any nuclear cooperation. But another senior administration official said the United States had not discounted the possibility. “North Korea has a history of proliferating,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Mrs. Clinton was authorized to speak publicly in advance of the conference.

Even without these links, Myanmar and North Korea are likely to dominate the meeting of the Association of Southeast Nations, or Asean, which begins Wednesday on the resort island of Phuket.

JOTMAN.COM has posted a exclusive translation of an recent interview with a leading Russian expert concerning developments in North Korea.