FOREIGN Affairs Minister Hor Namhong and officials from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam will meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the ASEAN Regional Forum in Thailand, officials said.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the meeting, scheduled for Thursday, will focus mainly on health, education and the environment.

The forum will also face the perennial challenge posed by Myanmar, which has sparked international outrage by putting pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on trial over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house in Yangon.

Clinton said Tuesday that Washington was taking concerns about military cooperation between Myanmar and nuclear-armed North Korea "very seriously".

Speaking after talks with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, she also expressed fresh concerns about the rights record of Myanmar's ruling junta, including allegations that the army was abusing young girls.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP