Allegations by a defector that the military regime in Myanmar is pursuing a nuclear program are corroborated by commercial satellite images, Jane’s Intelligence Review said in an article Wednesday.
Photos of buildings and security fences near the capital, Naypyidaw, confirm reports by Maj. Sai Thein Win of machine tool factories and other facilities alleged to be part of a nascent program to build nuclear weapons, the magazine reported from London.
“They will not make a bomb with the technology they currently possess or the intellectual capability,” Jane’s analyst Allison Puccioni said in an interview. “The two factors do make it possible to have a route to one.”
Jane’s said in a statement that Myanmar’s nuclear program is “overly ambitious with limited expertise.”
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern about reports at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Thailand last year that North Korea and Myanmar are expanding military ties and sharing nuclear technology.
Clinton said the U.S. would be “vigilant” about the countries’ military cooperation.
Sai said he worked at two factories involved in the nuclear program.
While Myanmar is a signatory to international agreements to control nuclear weapons use, it hasn’t agreed to more recent changes in the treaties and therefore isn’t subject to international inspections, the magazine said.
