Burma ‘too poor’ for nukes, says govt

By AFP Published: 3 June 2011

သိန္းစိန္ လိမ္ေနတယ္။

President Thein Sein is flanked by Vice Presidents Tin Aung Myint Oo (L) and Dr. Sai Mauk Kham (Reuters)
Burma is not wealthy enough to acquire nuclear weapons, a top government official told visiting US Senator John McCain, who called on Friday for an end to any military ties with North Korea.

“Myanmar [Burma] is no position to take account of nuclear weapons and does not have enough economic strength to do so,’ state media quoted Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo as telling McCain in talks in the capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday.

He said Burma was abiding by UN resolutions and has halted a peaceful nuclear research programme supported by Russia because the world “may misunderstand”, according to the New Light of Myanmar English-language daily.

McCain was in Burma to assess the new political landscape after the junta handed power to a nominally civilian government in March.

“The new government must abide by its international obligations to uphold United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding non-proliferation, and to cease any military cooperation with the government of North Korea, as required by international law,” he said on Friday at the end of the three-day visit.

US diplomatic memos released last year by the website WikiLeaks said Washington has suspected for years that Burma ran a secret nuclear programme supported by Pyongyang. A five-year investigation by DVB also uncovered evidence that Burma was planning a nuclear weapon.
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