Taifreedom

Journalists and diplomatic sources said the North Korean delegation arrived at Rangoon International Airport this morning after completing a trip to Laos.

The state-run media in both Burma and North Korea have been silent on the visit by the North Korean foreign minister, who last week attended the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi, Vietnam, after failing to attend the annual gathering for the past two years.

However, the state-run Korean Central News Agency briefly mentioned on July 20 that a delegation headed by Pak would visit Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Indonesia upon completion of the ARF meeting, which brings together foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their strategic partners.

According to reports, Pak began his diplomatic career in 1972 and went on to serve as ambassador to Algeria, Syria and Lebanon. Before being named to head the Foreign Ministry in May 2007, just a month after Burma and North Korea officially reestablished relations, he had served as ambassador to Russia for 18 years.

This is Pak’s first trip to Burma and the highest-level visit by a North Korean official since the two countries restored ties in April 2007. Relations had been officially suspended since 1983, when North Korean agents carried out a deadly attack in Rangoon targeting South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan. However, observers say the two pariah nations have secretly engaged in talks since the early 1990s.

North Korea’s last official visit to Burma was in November 2008, when Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Young Il and his Burmese hosts signed a free visa agreement for diplomats and official passport holders.

Pak was scheduled to tour the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon before traveling on Friday to the ruling junta's capital of Naypyitaw, where he will meet his Burma counterpart, Nyan Win, and other senior government officials, reported The Associated Press.

After Burma, Pak will fly to Indonesia for the Special Ministerial Meeting for the Millennium Development Goals, to be held on August 3-4 in Jakarta.

North Korea is one of Burma’s main military partners, supplying the Burmese regime with strategic weapons technology, such as missiles, rocket launchers and underground facilities. Recent revelations about a nascent nuclear weapons program in Burma have also raised concerns about possible involvement by Pyongyang.

In April, a North Korean vessel, the Chong Gen, docked at Thilawa Port near Rangoon, reportedly carrying rocket launchers and other weapons. The Burmese junta said that the ship was loaded with cement from North Korea and would be returning with a shipment of rice.

In June 2009, another North Korean vessel, the Kang Nam I, was forced to return to its home port after a US navy destroyer trailed it for several days on suspicions that it was carrying arms destined for Burma.

The growing relationship between the two countries has heightened worries of an emerging security threat in Southeast Asia.

“We continue to be concerned by the reports that Burma may be seeking assistance from North Korea with regard to a nuclear program,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the ARF last week. The Irrawaddy