Suu Kyi meets Myanmar junta minister

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met a senior junta official on Friday, state media said, but it was not known what they discussed.

MRTV showed footage from the fourth meeting between the Nobel laureate and ruling junta member Aung Kyi since he was appointed as a go-between after last September's crackdown on pro-democracy protests triggered world outrage.

"We have no idea what exactly they talked about, but we welcome their meeting. The more they meet, the better for the country," NLD spokesman Nyan Win said.

Witnesses told Reuters they had seen a car leave Suu Kyi's Yangon home, where she is under house arrest, and drive to a state guesthouse. The meeting lasted about one hour.

They last met on November 19 when diplomats speculated that their talks might have focused on the junta's preconditions for negotiations between Suu Kyi and regime leader Senior General Than Shwe.

He has offered direct talks if Suu Kyi, who has been under some form of detention for more than 12 of the last 18 years, abandons confrontation and her support for sanctions against the military, which has ruled the former Burma for 45 years.

Suu Kyi has said her previous meetings with Aung Kyi were constructive and she was ready to work with the military to establish proper negotiations.

But critics say the regime is sending mixed signals.