Fighting between the Burmese army and Kachin rebels broke out last year, ending a 17-year truce.
Many of the country's gems, especially jade and rubies, come from the contested areas in Kachin State.
Burma's army has, since June, been fighting both the Kachin Independence Army and the Shan State Army.
The Kachin Independence Army has been fighting for greater autonomy against the Burmese forces for 50 years.
Writer travels to northern Burma, where the Kachin Independence Army is fighting an insurgency against the government.
The government announced a ceasefire on Friday, but the Kachin Independence Army claimed that attacks continued regardless.
It points out that the Burmese government has never controlled much of the territory in Kachin state.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has fought the Burmese state for 50 years.
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Myanmar troops have attacked Kachin positions in recent weeks and tipped a long-simmering conflict into a more dangerous phase.
Mr Leacock served in an American unit filming behind Japanese lines with Kachin marauders (he was decorated for bravery).
Mr Ban said much more work needed to be done to achieve peace with ethnic minorities, particularly the Kachin people.
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Burma's government and ethnic Kachin rebels have reached an agreement that could pave the way for an end to their conflict.
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Troops continued a raid on rebels in Kachin state in the east over recent months, despite the president's orders to cease.
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The Kachin Independence Army is the only major ethnic rebel group not to have agreed a long-standing ceasefire with the government.
The Burmese government has acknowledged that the military carried out air attacks against rebel fighters in the northern state of Kachin.
At times over the past year, it has appeared to ignore Mr Thein Sein's instructions to stop offensive action against the Kachin.
Last month a crate was discovered in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, but muddy water stopped an immediate identification of its contents.
Fighting with the Kachin rebels resumed in 2011, after a 17-year truce.
Fighting has also taken place in the north of the country with Kachin rebels and a number of political prisoners remain in jail.
The fighters have abandoned Hka Ya hilltop, the last line of defence before the Kachin capital of Laiza, where the rebels are headquartered.
Ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Burma have been forced to withdraw from a key fortified outpost in their battle with the Burmese army.
The Burmese army has launched a fresh attack on rebel Kachin forces in the north of the country, breaking a short-lived government ceasefire.
It also said that China has refused UN and international aid agencies access to about 7, 000 to 10, 000 Kachin refugees in the province.
The Kachin position is certainly a great deal weaker than it was when the fighting resumed 19 months ago, after a 17-year ceasefire.
It has told our correspondent that it wants the Burmese military to scale back its operations throughout Kachin state and not just around Laiza.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by fighting between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Army over the last 20 years.
Burmese president Thein Sein has previously promised that troops will not take the town, but our correspondent says Kachin people are reluctant to believe him.
Both Shan and Kachin states border China, Burma's biggest economic ally.
Burmese troops attacked a Kachin base just a few kilometres from Laiza, the biggest town controlled by rebels in the state, near the Chinese border.
Because, for example, not only Kachins live in the Kachin state.
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Interview: Foreign Minister Win Aung - Page 1
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