Burma and weapons of mass destruction Burma ( Myanmar ) is widely suspected to have initiated a nuclear weapon s programme . If such a programme exists , it is expected to be very slow and primitive , due to Burma ' s financial and technological limitations . Burma has faced persistent accusations of using chemical weapons ; however , the NTI has stated there is " no evidence to suggest that Myanmar has a chemical weapons program . " Burma is a member of nuclear , but not chemical or biological , non - proliferation treaties . Chemical weapons . The first public indications of Burma ' s possible possession of chemical weapons came in testimony delivered to the United States Congress in 1991 by Rear Adm . Thomas Brooks , Director of Naval Intelligence of the United States Navy , in which Burma was included on a list of nations that " probably possess " chemical weapons . However , the United States then took Burma off the list of nations with chemical weapons programmes in 1993 . In 2005 Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise reported speaking to two deserters from the Burmese Army who , during their time in service , were " reportedly told to take special precautions because they were handling chemical shells . " The deserters described seeing artillerymen wearing masks and gloves to fire the munitions . In a separate report from the same year , Dr . Martin Panter , a physician and the president of Christian Solidarity Worldwide , reported treating injuries of anti - government Karenni rebels that were " consistent with a chemical attack , " and claimed that " strong circumstantial evidence exists for the use of chemicals , particularly nerve agents , pulmonary agents and possibly blister agents . " In response to the Christian Solidarity Worldwide report , the Burmese government denied the use of chemical weapons . The NTI has stated that " without further investigation it is not clear if the reports refer to agents recognized under international law as chemical weapons or to riot control agents - the latter is most likely . " Burma signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993 but has yet to ratify the agreement . Nuclear weapons . In 2007 Russia and Burma did a controversial nuclear research center deal . According to them , " The centre will comprise a 10MW light - water reactor working on 20 % - enriched uranium - 235 , an activation analysis laboratory , a medical isotope production laboratory , silicon doping system , nuclear waste treatment and burial facilities " . According to an August 2009 report published in the " Sydney Morning Herald " , Burma is working to develop a nuclear weapon by 2014 . The reported effort , purportedly being undertaken with assistance from North Korea , involves the construction of a nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facilities in caves tunneled into a mountain at Naung Laing , a village in the Mandalay division . The information cited in the newspaper story reportedly originated from two high - ranking defectors who had settled in Australia . On June 3 , 2010 , a five year investigation by an anti - government Myanmar broadcaster , the Democratic Voice of Burma ( DVB ) , found evidence that allegedly shows the country ' s military regime begun a programme to develop nuclear weapons . The DVB said evidence of Myanmar ' s nuclear programme came from top - secret documents smuggled out of the country over several years , including hundreds of files and other evidence provided by Sai Thein Win , a former major in the military of Myanmar . A UN report said there was evidence that North Korea had been exporting nuclear technology to Burma , Iran and Syria . Based on Win ' s evidence , Robert Kelley , a former weapons inspector , said he believed Burma " has the intent to go nuclear and it is . . . expending huge resources along the way . " But as of 2010 , experts said that Burma was a long way from succeeding , given the poor quality of their current materials . Despite Kelley ' s analysis , some experts are uncertain that a nuclear weapons programme exists ; for example , ISIS notes ambiguity as to whether certain equipment is used for uranium production , or for innocently producing " rare earth metals or metals such as titanium or vanadium . " The U . S . expressed concern in 2011 about possible NPT violations , but by 2012 stated that its concerns had been " partially allayed . "