Myanmar has maintained military ties with North Korea, US officials claim
Myanmar’s military was believed in the past to have imported North Korean-made weapons and North Korean personnel also worked in Myanmar
Myanmar’s military has maintained ties with North Korea, even though the civilian-led government denies any cooperation, and the Trump administration is pressing for a complete break-off of remaining links, current and former US officials said.
Washington made its case to Myanmar’s de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during a visit to the country this week by the US special envoy for North Korea.
US Ambassador Joseph Yun’s trip to Myanmar underlined continuing US worries over North Korean links that date back to Myanmar’s decades of military rule, according to a senior State Department official on Friday.
“It was an opportunity to message that any engagement with North Korea, particularly military engagement, is counterproductive to trying to end this threat that North Korea poses to the region and to the globe,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Any engagement with North Korea, particularly military engagement, is counterproductive to trying to end this threat that North Korea poses
He declined to specify what kind of military cooperation had continued between North Korea and Myanmar.