When US Ambassador Joseph Yun will visit this week in Myanmar, he is likely to try to persuade his former military partner in Pyongyang to join US efforts to end Kim Nuclear ambition. It is a huge task to be carried out by the man who was hailed as his effort to help Otto Warmbier from North Korea's detention last month.
Moves to halt Kim's Nuclear Program
However, analysts say his tour, is a symbol of key Trump administration tactics of the main trend: a decline in Pyongyang revenue, no matter how small or unclear the source is. The First Yun state visit was in Singapore for talks in the Dialogue on Cooperation in East Asia, a multilateral forum for talks on security issues.
But this may be a barrier to the choice - Singapore companies have been accused over the past several years to help North Korea violate UN sanctions.
CNN reported that before the election in 2015, the military junta, the former head of Myanmar, became one of the largest buyers of weapons and military hardware in North Korea, according to the US Treasury Department.
Its income helps finance weapons programs in the reclusive state and the means of livelihood of the North Korean leadership. Although no longer in power, the Myanmar army continues to have a major influence and has been criticized for years in its relationship with Pyongyang. Reporters contacted the Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry over its relationship with North Korea but did not respond to the inquiry.
North Korea in possession of an ICBM
Reducing illegal revenue streams in North Korea has become more important because North Korea has set up the first successful Ballistic missile (ICBM), capable of reaching Alaska; US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has intensified US efforts to curb violations of international law in relations with Pyongyang.
Tillerson's statement came after the United States said it was restricting financial ties between US banks and the Chinese bank Dandong, which the government wants to name a financial pipeline to support the illegal activity of North Korea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry rejects this move and Lu Kang the spokesman said Beijing was against other countries sanctioning the vast jurisdiction of Chinese units or individuals based on national legislation.
Singapore and Myanmar companies are charged with the purchase or sale of weapons from North Korea.
UN report earlier this year criticized a firm known as Pan Systems Pyongyang, blamed a wide range of offshore companies, offshore accounts in, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East to avoid penalties for shopping and marketing.
