By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

North Korea is believed to possess 13 types of viruses and germs that it can readily use in the event of a conflict, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday, citing a defense ministry report.

The North is believed to be one of the world's largest possessors of chemical and biological weapons.

South Korea suspects the communist neighbor has up to 5,000 tons of chemical agents.

During a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of National Defense, Rep. Kim Ock-lee of the Grand National Party said diseases that could be caused by North Korean biological weapons include cholera, pest, yellow fever, smallpox, eruptive typhus, typhoid fever and dysentery.

North Korea is capable of producing these germs on its own in the event of a conflict, the legislator said.

Since North Korea's founding leader, the late Kim Il-sung, called for the development of chemical weapons in 1961, the communist state has actively sought the expansion of related facilities, South Korean officials say.

A U.S. media report said last year that the North is believed to be producing biological weapons at more than 20 facilities, while another dozen churn out chemical ones, including sarin, mustard gas and hydrogen cyanide.

Pyongyang denies that it has or is producing any chemical weapons.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said the government is aware of about 100 North Korean sites pertaining to the North's nuclear program.

He said the military has the capacity to strike them if necessary.

"We have sufficient information as to the locations where items related to the nuclear program are stored and the delivery means are placed," said the minister.

North Korea has conducted two known atomic tests in the past three years ― one in October 2006 and the other in May this year.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr