Myanmar, UN nuclear agency agree closer inspections

VIENNA - The United Nations atomic agency said on Monday it will sign an agreement with Myanmar aimed at clearing up lingering suspicions that its military junta might have sought nuclear weapons.

Myanmar was suspected of pursuing military and nuclear cooperation with North Korea during the long years of junta rule that ended last year.

The "additional protocol" to Myanmar's existing accord with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gives the watchdog's inspectors greater physical access to facilities in Myanmar.

It was due to be inked in Vienna on Tuesday at IAEA headquarters by the agency's Japanese head Yukiya Amano and Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin.

Myanmar President Thein Sein's government has denied any covert effort to obtain nuclear weapons technology from North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests.