Global Security Newswire

A senior official in Myanmar on Wednesday said his nation was not the intended recipient of sensitive gear seized last August that is believed to have originated in North Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

A cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Singapore was found during a stop in Japan to be carrying aluminum alloy rods that could be employed in production of uranium enrichment centrifuges.

North Korea has acknowledged possession of an enrichment program, but has said it is intended for peaceful purposes rather than for its nuclear-weapon operations.

Myanmar has long rejected claims that it has conducted illicit nuclear cooperation with the North. It has maintained that stance since moving to a civilian-led government in 2011.

"We have no great interest to broker such items like aluminum alloy rods," Ko Ko Hlaing, lead political counselor to President Thein Sein, said in an interview with Yonhap.

"We understand that the result of clandestine arms trafficking is quite treacherous," he added. "So the reported destination may be elsewhere and the real destination will be in another position. So we can confirm that the real destination is not Myanmar."