North Korea
and Kim Jong-il: The Myanmar Element
Tuesday,
December 20, 2011 , by Joshua Kurlantzick
(nuke vs. a staging point for all illegal activities of the North)
Over
the past five years, as North Korea’s few friends and allies in the
world dwindled, and the international community cracked down on its
proliferation activities, Myanmar
has apparently become much
more important to Pyongyang
strategically. From virtually no relationship at all ten years ago, now the two
pariah nations have regular high-level military-military dialogues, including
some of the senior-most members of the former Myanmar military regime. As The Irrawaddy reported
several years ago:
In
November 2008, a Burmese military delegation led by Gen Shwe Mann flew secretly
to North Korea and met the army-in-chief, Gen Kim Kyok-sik. They agreed terms
of cooperation on several military initiatives, including radar and jamming
units, air defense systems, and a computer-controlled command center. The
delegation also visited North Korean SCUD missile factories which are located
in the tunnels. The two countries signed an agreement that North Korea will
help in the construction of military facilities for missiles, aircraft and war
ships.
That’s far
from all. There is considerable suspicion in Western and Asian
intelligence communities that North Korea has been helping Myanmar develop some
elements of a nuclear and/or
ballistic missile program, and that Myanmar has also served as a staging point for all
manner of illegal North Korean money-making activities, including
American currency fraud, smuggling of other goods, and possibly proliferation
to other, third nations. Shortly before Hillary Clinton’s trip to Myanmar three
weeks ago, Senator
Richard Lugar revealed that his office has had information about Myanmar’s
nuclear ambitions, with the help of North Korea, for five years now. North
Korean technicians have been reportedly helping Myanmar build tunnels and other
underground facilities whose purpose is unknown, and ships carrying weapons
from North Korea have been stopped in international waters on their way to
Myanmar. Some Burmese defectors say that North Korean military technicians have
been closely involved in nascent efforts to develop a Burmese nuclear weapons
program.
Burma renew its relationship with the US
Burma can't have both: claiming a solid place in international community and maintaining strategic alliance with the North
But with the
emerging U.S.-Myanmar
rapprochement, there is a real opportunity here for the United States to
gain insight into North Korea’s proliferation activities, criminal networks,
and other foreign endeavors, through discussions with Myanmar military and
civilian officials. Other than
Chinese officials, or a high-level North Korean defector (which has not
happened in years), these Myanmar
military men may be the most
knowledgeable sources about the
North available. There is evidence that Myanmar might be willing to
give up information about its North Korean ally and North Korean aid inside
Myanmar: As The Irrawaddy reported,
Myanmar President Thein Sein “told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that
Burma follows the resolution of the UN Security Council regarding nuclear
non-proliferation when the pair met in Naypyidaw on Dec. 1.”
Other Myanmar
officials say that some military and civilian leaders recognize that, if Myanmar is going to have real
rapprochement with the international community, it will need to give
up its ties to North Korea, or at least make them far more
transparent. And some older Burmese officials remember that Pyongyang is
not exactly a stable ally: In an attempt to kill South Korea’s then-president,
Chun do-Hwan, North Korean terrorists in 1983 exploded a large bomb in downtown
Rangoon, murdering much of the South Korean cabinet, and 21 people in
total (though not Chun)
