Myanmar-N.Korea arms link? (THE STRAITS TIME)...(ဝင္းရုိးတန္း ၂ႏုိင္ငံ အေမရိကန္ စိုးရိမ္)

In this 2008 photo provided by Thai Irrawaddy News Magazine Wednesday, June 24, 2009, Gen. Shwe Mann, the third ranking member of Myanmar's ruling junta (left) and Gen Kim Kyok-sik, then-chief of staff of North Korea's army (right), sign a memorandum in Pyongyang in late 2008. -- PHOTO: AP
BANGKOK - THE United States said on Tuesday it was worried about the possibility of military links between North Korea and Myanmar and called on Myanmar to end human rights abuses and the mistreatment of minorities.

POSSIBILITY OF BETTER TIES
MRS CLINTON criticized Myanmar for alleged human rights abuses, including allegations that military officers have organised gang rapes of girls, and called on the junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other activists.

Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention in Myanmar, mostly under house arrest at her lakeside home in the former capital, Yangon. She is currently on trial, charged with breaching security laws when an uninvited American swam across the lake and spent two days in her home.
... more

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced the concerns ahead of a regional security meeting whose most contentious topics may include how to rein in North Korea's nuclear programme and how to promote democracy in military-ruled Myanmar.

'We know that there are also growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma, which we take very seriously,' Mrs Clinton told reporters when asked about reports of nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

'It would be destabilising for the region. It would pose a direct threat to Burma's neighbours,' said Mrs Clinton, who is this week attending the Asean Regional Forum security gathering on the Thai island resort of Phuket.

Both North Korea and Myanmar, also known as Burma, will be represented.

Mrs Clinton avoided directly commenting on the possibility Myanmar might try to get nuclear expertise from North Korea, which has a long history of arms proliferation and which US officials believe helped Syria to build a nuclear reactor.

Pyongyang, which tested a nuclear device in May and test-launched seven ballistic missiles earlier this month, will come under pressure in Phuket to resume multilateral talks on ending its nuclear programme.

Talk of Myanmar-North Korea military ties has been fuelled by the fact that a North Korean ship, tracked by the United States in June and July on suspicion of carrying arms, appeared headed toward Myanmar before turning around.

'It is something, as a treaty ally of Thailand, that we are taking very seriously,' Mrs Clinton said, referring to the reported military links between North Korea and Myanmar, which shares a border with Thailand. -- REUTERS

Source from
THE STRAITS TIMES