ASEAN envoy seeks Myanmar junta blessing to meet its opponents

FILE PHOTO: A police officer stands near national flags of ASEAN counties flags during the 25th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar International Convention Centre in Naypyitaw November 12, 2014. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A special Southeast Asian envoy to the crisis in Myanmar on Thursday said he was seeking to visit the country next month and appealed to its military junta to give its blessing for him to talk with a shadow government it has labelled "terrorists".

Prak Sokhonn, Cambodia's foreign minister and new envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said engaging the National Unity Government (NUG), a group of members of the ousted administration and other military opponents, was complicated because of the junta's objections.