N. Korea maintains active biological weapons program: DoD report

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Mon, December 4, 2023 | 03:30

Defense

N. Korea maintains active biological weapons program: DoD report

Posted : 2023-08-24 08:25

Updated : 2023-08-25 09:34

Deborah Rosenblum, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, is seen speaking at a seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington, Aug. 23, in this captured image. Screen captured from CSIS

North Korea continues to maintain an active biological weapons program and it likely is the only country in the world that continues to produce toxic agents that can cause highly infectious diseases, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a report.

The report, titled Biodefense Posture Review (BPR), also highlighted that North Korea, along with China, Russia and Iran, possess the knowledge and ability to use such toxic agents if necessary.

"The PRC, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, probably maintain the knowledge and capability to produce and employ traditional pathogens and toxins," said the report.

"These countries historically pursued, and at least one country (North Korea) continues to pursue, pathogens that cause highly infectious or contagious diseases, such as anthrax, plague, and toxins, including botulinum toxin. These nations probably also retain the knowledge and ability to employ these agents if necessary," it added.

The BPR is the first of its kind to be published by the defense department. It was released Thursday.

The inaugural report lays out biological threats facing the United States and its allies, as well as "significant reforms" and steps they must take to ensure operation in a biological threat environment at home and abroad, according to Deborah Rosenblum, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs.

"The national defense strategy speaks of the growing risks of chemical and biological threats in the context of the strategic competition with near peer competitors," Rosenblum said in a seminar hosted Wednesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

"But we are not only concerned about China and Russia. We must remain focused on the potential impact of existing and emerging biotechnologies that could be incorporated into any biological warfare program for purposes inconsistent with obligations under the Biological Weapons (and Toxins) Convention (BWC)," she added.

The BPR says the United States "assesses that North Korea and Russia maintain offensive biological weapons programs in violation of BWC obligations."

"The use of biological weapons or their proliferation by state or non-state actors presents a significant challenge to our national security, our people, our agriculture, and the environment," says the report. (Yonhap)

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