By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
An envelope containing unidentified white powder has been mailed to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, according to police Thursday. Though it was tentatively concluded to be harmless, it was handed over to the authorities for further testing.
According to the Jongno Police Station in Seoul, the embassy spotted the white powder while checking suspicious air mail it received through X-ray, Wednesday morning.
It called a nearby fire station, and special agents were dispatched to collect the package.
``No anthrax was found, and there were no peculiarities found so far as I know,'' a police spokesman said.
Though it did not contain anthrax, initial tests by the Research Institute for Public Health and the Environment detected ricin, a protein toxin that can be lethal when inhaled or injected. However, more accurate tests by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention turned out negative. The center said it would make a detailed announcement by the weekend after further testing.
According to police, the powder was in an envelope postmarked Texas, the United States, the same as ones delivered to U.S. embassies in other countries. U.S. missions in 18 countries, including Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Japan, have received the white powder in mail so far this month. Most of them have found the it to be harmless as yet, according to reports.
More than 40 governors' offices in the United States also received white powder in the mail. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the letters were all similar and called the deliveries a hoax, according to wire services.
However, governments are reacting sensitively to the mailing. In 2001, letters containing harmful powder killed five people in the United States, and the current spate is sparking security alerts a few weeks ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, scheduled for Jan. 20.
chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr