Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi today met with the military junta minister in charge of opposition group relations, a day after marking her twelfth year under house arrest, the Guardian reports. Former general Aung Kyi was appointed earlier this month in an apparent concession to international pressure, and spent an hour with Suu Kyi in their first meeting.
Aung Kyi is regarded as relatively reasonable in comparison with other high-ranking junta members, the BBC reports. Though previous attempts at talks between the two sides have failed, a UN envoy last month encouraged the junta to appoint a liaison. The Burmese leadership has also acceded to inspections by a UN human rights investigator, who has been banned from the country since 2003. (More Than Shwe stories.)