Myanmar ? The ruling junta appointed a Cabinet official Monday to coordinate contacts with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a move that comes with Myanmar under intense international pressure to enter talks with the democracy movement.

Deputy Labor Minister Aung Kyi, a retired major general, was named to the post of “liaison minister,” state radio and television said Monday night.

Today, the junta said it hoped to achieve “smooth relations” with Suu Kyi. The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a mouthpiece of the junta, printed a brief official announcement on its front page saying that Kyi had been appointed “minister for relations” to coordinate contacts with Suu Kyi, the country’s democracy icon.

The appointment was suggested by U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his visit to Myanmar earlier this month, the statement said.