Reuters
U.S. Senator Jim Webb abruptly canceled a planned visit to military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday because of concern about the country's alleged nuclear cooperation with North Korea.
Webb, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, said his visit would be "unwise" having learned of a report containing new allegations that Myanmar was seeking North Korea's help in developing a nuclear program.
It was not immediately known what report Webb was referring to and a U.S. embassy spokesman could not confirm the origin of the report, or where it was published.
"News reports published today contain new allegations regarding the possibility that the Burmese government has been working in conjunction with North Korea in order to develop a nuclear program," Webb said in a statement.
"It is unclear whether these allegations have substantive merit. Until there is further clarification on these matters, I believe it would be unwise and potentially counterproductive for me to visit Burma," he said, referring to Myanmar by its former official name.
The United States believes North Korea has previously shipped conventional arms to Myanmar, in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874.
Webb, a Vietnam War veteran, issued the statement from neighboring Thailand. He had been due to arrive in Myanmar on Thursday afternoon.
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His visit to the country in August last year was hailed as a success for Myanmar's reclusive junta, which normally chides outsiders and accuses them of interference.
He met detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and junta supremo General Than Shwe, who often shuns visiting diplomats. It was not known who Webb had planned to meet this time.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Washington's top official for East Asia, visited Myanmar on May 10 and expressed "profound disappointment" at the regime's approach to its much-derided election scheduled this year.
The visit was Campbell's first since November last year. That trip was the first in 14 years by a top U.S. official, signifying Washington's new policy of deeper engagement with a regime it has for years been trying to pressure into change.
Webb said it was important Myanmar and the United States continued to engage with each other, but called for clarification from about the nuclear issue, about which the junta has made no official comment.
"I strongly believe that a continuation of dialogue between our two countries is important for the evolution of a more open governmental system and for the future strategic balance in Southeast Asia," Webb added.
"However, a productive dialogue will be achievable only when these two matters are further clarified."
by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel and Sugita Katyal
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