U.S. to restore full diplomatic ties with Burma

(AP)  WASHINGTON - The United States is restoring full diplomatic relations with Burma, a landmark in the Obama administration's drive to reward democratic reforms by a government the U.S. previously treated as a pariah.
The decision announced Friday to exchange ambassadors with Burma for the first time in two decades followed the release of hundreds of political prisoners, but Washington probably will be looking for fair conduct in coming elections and an end to ethnic violence before it lifts sanctions.
The U.S. also wants Burma to open up to U.N. nuclear inspectors and sever illicit military ties with North Korea because of concerns that Pyongyang has sold Burma defense hardware, including missiles, in defiance of international sanctions.
Burma President Thein Sein pardoned 651 detainees on Friday, among them leaders of brutally repressed democratic uprisings, heads of ethnic minority groups, journalists and even a former prime minister who had been blamed himself for incarcerating activists.
President Barack Obama, in a statement, described the pardons as "a substantial step forward for democratic reform."

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