Asia

South Korea to Freeze Defence, Security Exchanges With Myanmar

Earlier, Thomas Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, urged the international community to impose multilateral sanctions on the nation's military, which has taken power in Myanmar, over multiple human rights violations.
Sputnik

South Korea will suspend its defence and security exchanges with Myanmar, its foreign ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, South Korea will ban exports of arms and strategic items, and reconsider development aid to Myanmar.

"Despite repeated demands of the international community, including South Korea, there are an increasing number of victims in Myanmar due to violent acts of the military and police authorities," the ministry said in a statement.

The last defence exports to Myanmar from South Korea were in 2019, but Seoul still spends millions of dollars on development projects there, according to data from the International Aid Transparency Initiative.

On Thursday, EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore said that the European Union is ready to adopt restrictive measures against those responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar.

Earlier, the UN Security Council issued a statement strongly condemning Myanmar's military for using violence against peaceful protesters.

The military toppled the Southeast Asian nation’s elected government on 1 February and launched a massive crackdown on anti-coup protesters, shutting down the internet and arresting hundreds of people, including the state counselor and the president. The crackdown on protesters left more than 50 people dead.

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