WASHINGTON, (Yonhap) -- As she welcomed a landmark visit to the U.S. by famed Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced concern Tuesday over the country's alleged ties with North Korea.
Clinton stressed that the nascent move towards reform and democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma, should go on.
The secretary specified her concerns.
"Some military contacts with North Korea persist," she said at a forum hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace, which she attended with Suu Kyi. "Political prisoners remain in detention. Ongoing ethnic and sectarian violence continues to undermine progress toward national reconciliation, stability, and lasting peace. And further reforms are required to strengthen the rule of law, increase transparency, and address constitutional challenges."
Earlier in the day, Clinton met with the Nobel laureate at the department, their first meeting in nine months.
Their previous meeting took place when Clinton traveled to Myanmar in December.
The department made clear that it will continue to ease sanctions on the Southeast Asian nation if it takes more steps towards democracy and comes clean on its suspected ties to North Korea.
"We are going to do this in a measured way, as we see progress," department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing later. "And the secretary did lay out the list, which does of course include concerns about continuing contact with North Korea."
Suu Kyi arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday for a 17-day tour, her first trip here since the late 1980s.
Meanwhile, the White House maintained its firm stance on North Korea.
"Our position with regards to North Korea is unchanged," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at a separate press briefing.
"We continue to work with our international partners to pressure North Korea to get right with the international community, to abide by its obligations and, in doing so, to end its isolation, its profound isolation from the world," he added.