Burma 'building nuclear and missile sites'

Witnesses in Burma have seen missile and nuclear sites being built in remote locations with support from North Korea, according to the latest US cables released by WikiLeaks.

A Burmese officer in an engineering unit claimed surface-to-air missiles and an underground facility were being built at a site 300 miles north west of Rangoon, the documents published by The Guardian said.

The cable read: "The North Koreans, aided by Burmese workers, are constructing a concrete-reinforced underground facility that is "500ft from the top of the cave to the top of the hill above".

An estimated 300 North Koreans were working at the site, the document said, although it was suggested this number was probably too high.

Other reports, dating over the past six years, suggest dockworkers and foreign businessmen had heard about nuclear sites.

One businessman told the US Embassy in Rangoon that he had heard rumours of a nuclear reactor being built.

The cables add to long-standing fears that the Burmese military junta is trying to build a nuclear facility.