RECOGNITION OF BURMA’S PROLIFERATION
By Roland Watson November 13, 2008
Zee News India recently reported that at the request of the United States a North Korean cargo plane wasdenied permission to fly through Indian airspace to get to Iran. This incident, which occurred on August7th, was also covered in a
Wall Street Journal
article in the edition of November 1-2nd. According to the
Journal
, the U.S. request was “
part of the Bush Administration’s Proliferation Security Initiative, whichaims to block the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Any action under the initiative would be ordered only if the plane was suspected of carrying nuclear materials, long-range missile components or other potentially lethal cargo
.”The only cargo possibility that was mentioned, by either Zee News or the
Journal
, was missile components.We believe it is naïve to suggest that cooperation between Iran and North Korea is limited to this extent.More likely, there is nuclear cooperation as well, which the intelligence community has either been unableto document, or which, for whatever reasons, it wants to keep secret.The last scenario is the most likely, since North Korea was caught helping Syria build a nuclear reactor,which facility Israel destroyed. It would be surprising if the same type of cooperation with Iran – assistancewith its program to develop nuclear weapons – were not underway. (Impoverished North Korea is anaggressive arms merchant.) Also, it seems clear that the U.S. has an effective intelligence capability,directed at the North, since it was able to identify this particular flight.The
Journal
article was notable for what it didn't mention: the role of Burma in the developing nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation nexus between North Korea and Iran. The flight had proceeded fromPyongyang to Mandalay, from where its departure to Iran was blocked. It would also be naïve to think thatthis was simply a refueling stop. The flight repeats a pattern of naval shipments from Pyongyang, whichwere unloaded under top secrecy at Rangoon Thilawa Port at night, and which ships we understand in atleast one case then proceeded onward to Iran.Dictator Watch has previously reported, based on information from our own sources, that Burma is pursuing a nuclear development program with atomic weapons as the ultimate objective. The principal partner in this program is Russia, which has agreed to supply a 10 MW reactor, and which is now beingconstructed. This is a repeat of the proliferation that the Soviet Union orchestrated with North Korea in the1970s and 80s, and North Korean technicians are reportedly involved in the Burmese project, if notdirecting its on-ground activities.China played an important role in Burma’s proliferation. In May 2001, former Foreign Minister Win Aungtogether with General Maung Aye spoke to Burmese State Scholars who were to study in Russia. WinAung said: “
China wants us to work with Russia on a nuclear program and to try to develop nuclear weapons in the future
.”Cooperation between Burma and Russia soured in 2006, because the Burmese scholars were not dedicatedto their education and the military junta, the SPDC, failed to pay the program’s costs. At that time, andeven though cooperation with Russia subsequently was resumed, Burma approached North Korea and Iranfor assistance with its nuclear initiative.Burma further has short-range ballistic missiles, acquired from North Korea. We believe these are Scudvariant missiles, not the more sophisticated devices that have been tested by the North within the last year.Burma also has commercial uranium deposits, which the regime itself has admitted. Our sources inform usthat uranium mining and milling is in progress, and that the end product, yellowcake, has been sold to both North Korea and Iran. Regarding the former, the most contentious disarmament issue for the United Stateshas been the extent of the North's uranium enrichment program, and such program's decommissioning.Similarly, there is great concern about Iran's enrichment program. We believe Burma is supplying both
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