Washington (AsiaNews) – There are increased suspicions about the nuclear ambitions of the Burmese regime which according to an American think tank are building a reactor near Mandalay with the help of North Korea. The idea has been circulating for some time but the latest report from the Institute for Science and International Security, which included photos, reinforces the suspicion.  

The document, titled "Myanmar: an aspiring nuclear state; suspected ties with North Korea; supplies of suspicious high-technology and facilities," denouncing the arrival of equipment useful for the development of a nuclear or missile  program being amassed in remote areas of Burma for “unknown purposes".  Although this is not enough to state that there is a nuclear weapons program - the report warns - companies and governments need to take extreme caution in relations with Myanmar and require the utmost transparency". The junta, in fact, is buying or applying for a large quantity of suspect material such as highly sophisticated technology potentially for missile or nuclear use.

According to the experts who drafted the document, David Albright and Paul Brannan, the former Burma and North Korea have discussed nuclear cooperation, but currently there is no certainty of the construction of a nuclear power plant. The evidence of collaboration include the Korean-Burmese presence in Myanmar of the heads of Namchongang Trading (NCG), a North Korean trading company targeted by UN sanctions. The nature of this partnership is still unknown, but the involvement of the NCG only increases the suspicions of those who look at Myanmar as a future nuclear threat like Iran or Pakistan.