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U.S. Examining Possible North Korea-Myanmar Missile Sales By Steve Hirsch WASHINGTON — U.S. officials are looking at whether North Korea might be trying to sell ballistic missiles to Myanmar, a Bush administration official told Global Security Newswire today (see GSN, March 26). The issue of potential cooperation between the two pariah states was addressed March 19 during a meeting of officials, including representatives from the intelligence community, National Security Council and State Department. These officials meet periodically on nonproliferation issues and looked at the North Korea-Myanmar question following press and intelligence reports raising the possibility of cooperation between Pyongyang and Yangon, the official said. U.S. officials believe North Korea has offered Myanmar surface-to-surface missiles going beyond multiple rocket launchers, with a range of more than 100 miles. The missiles could have WMD capabilities, depending on their configuration. The officials, however, believe Myanmar is “decades” away from a nuclear weapon capability unless someone sells the country a warhead. They also are not concerned about biological weapons, but the situation with chemical weapons is less clear. This source said U.S. officials are fairly confident no transfers have been authorized and said Myanmar has said it has not accepted the North Korean offer so far. It is believed that the North Koreans would be interested in a combination of cash and barter — items such as rice or teak — in return for the missiles.
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