The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reports that the Burmese military government is attempting to acquire nuclear weapons technology as a deterrent against Western military actions. The allegations have been substantiated by Sai Thein Win, a former major in the Burmese army who served as a defence engineer and missile expert.  According to DVB, he worked “in special factories, built to house modern European machining tools, to build prototypes for missile and nuclear activities”. After defecting from the government, he granted DVB a treasure-trove of photographs and documentation of what he believes is Naypyidaw’s attempt to acquire a nuclear capability.

The Defense Services Technological Academy at Pyin U Lwin, home of Burma’s nascent nuclear program. (Photo: DVB)

In the 30-page analysis of DVB’s research and Sai Thein Win’s documentation (available here), Robert Kelley, a former Los Alamos weapons scientist, concludes that Burma is “mining uranium, converting it to uranium compounds for reactors and bombs, and is trying to build a reactor and or an enrichment plant that could only be useful for a bomb.  There is no chance that these activities are directed at a reactor to produce electricity in Burma”. He notes that the country is far from having the level of technical expertise to actually detonate a nuke, but the prospect of a nuclear-armed junta should give everybody pause — especially US policymakers who have recently promoted a softly-softly policy of limited engagement with the junta. (It was this that pushed US Senator Jim Webb to cancel his planned visit to the country this month).

North Korea’s invisible hand has also been seen behind the recent Burmese developments. Pyongyang has previously been linked to the construction of underground bunkers and tunnel systems for the Burmese military and has reportedly given support to the junta’s ballistic missile programs. But DVB suggests the relationship may extend beyond mere technical support, arguing that the generals in Naypyidaw are looking to Pyongyang as a model for long-term autarky and isolationism. “Like their model, North Korea, the junta hopes to remain safe from foreign interference by being too dangerous to invade,” the report states. “Nuclear weapons contribute to that immunity.” (Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner has more on the North Korea-Burma axis here).