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Viewing cable 04RANGOON88, BURMA: RUMORS OF CONSTRUCTION OF A

NUCLEAR REACTOR 

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin

04RANGOON88  2004-01-20 09:09  2010-12-12 21:09  SECRET//NOFORN  Embassy Rangoon This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the

original cable is not available.

Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 09:44

S E C R E T RANGOON 000088

SIPDIS

NOFORN

EO 12958 DECL: 01/09/2014

TAGS PGOV, PARM, PREL, BM, RS, KS, KNPP

SUBJECT: BURMA: RUMORS OF CONSTRUCTION OF A NUCLEAR REACTOR

NEAR MINBU

REF: STATE 297614 AND PREVIOUS 03 RANGOON 1427

Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.5 (B,D)¶1. (S/NF) An expatriate businessmanXXXXXXXXXXXX recently volunteered to an Embassy

Officer that he had heard rumors that a nuclear reactor was being built near Minbu,

in central Magway Division on the Irawaddy River. The businessman added that he

personally had seen a “massive” barge containing large-sized rebar being unloaded

on a trip to the area. After asking local residents about the rebar’s purpose, he

was told that similar size barge shipments were arriving almost weekly and that the

rebar was to be used in the construction of unnamed/unidentified factories. In the

opinion of the businessman, the quantities involved as well as the diameter of the

rebar suggested a project larger than “factories.” Along these lines, the

businessman noted that there was a new airport near Minbu with a landing strip

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that, based on its length and thickness, seemed excessive, adding that “you could

land the space shuttle on it.”

¶2. (S/NF) Comment: Rumors of construction of a nuclear facility in/near Magway

Division date back to 2002 and generally refer to alleged Goverment of Burma (GOB)

and Russian cooperation on a nuclear research reactor project. Similar rumors, sans

the “Russia” angle, have been circulating with greater frequency within diplomatic

and expatriate circles since a November 2003 Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER)

article which described signs of growing military ties between North Korea and

Burma. While we have no direct evidence of this alleged cooperation, rumors ofongoing construction of a nuclear reactor are surprisingly consistent and

observations of activity such as that described above appear to be increasing, as

are alleged sightings of North Korean “technicians” inside Burma. Martinez