North Korea is producing viruses and bacteria for their germ warfare programme that already has an arsenal capable of causing chaos and terror in the region, according to a US report.
In their latest assessment of Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction, the US said the mysterious state ruled by Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has developed sprays and ‘poison pens’ which can spread deadly diseases.
The weapons are said to be designed to spread germs such as smallpox and anthrax which some experts believe is more dangerous than Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons programme.
The US State Department said the mysterious country ruled by Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un (pictured) has developed sprays and ‘poison pens’ which can spread deadly diseases
The weapons are said to be designed to spread germs such as smallpox and anthrax which some experts believe is more dangerous than Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons programme
The report by the US State Department, which monitors foreign governments’ compliance with arms control obligations, said: ‘The United States assesses that the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] has a dedicated, national level offensive BW [biological weapons] programme.
‘The DPRK has the capability to produce biological agents for military purposes [and] the technical capability to produce bacteria, viruses and toxins that could be used as BW agents. The DPRK also has the capability to genetically engineer biological products.’
It added: ‘Pyongyang probably is capable of weaponising BW agents with unconventional systems such as sprayers and poison pen injection devices, which have been deployed by the DPRK for delivery of chemical weapons and could be used to covertly deliver BW agents.’
The reclusive state has been a party to the Biological Weapons Convention since 1987 and evidence that has gathered over time suggests that is has the will and the scientific capability to make biological weapons.
North Korea has never admitted being in possession of biological weapons and reliable intelligence from the inside is hard to come by.
Their founding leader Kim Il-sung understood that ‘poisonous gas and bacteria can be used effectively in war’ back in the 1980s.
In 1993, Russia’s intelligence agency concluded that North Korea was testing biological weapons on offshore islands and was using universities and medical institutes to research anthrax, cholera, bubonic plague and smallpox.
A picture of Kim Jong-un released by North Korea’s official news agency shows him inspecting the first test-fire of Hwasongpho-16B – a solid-fuelled tactical ballistic missile – on April 2
Guard posts and fences seen on a hillside on the North Korean border with Russia and China
This was confirmed in the US by the head of the CIA at the time James Woolsey.
Defectors who have left North Korea have claimed that testing on political prisoners takes place over there – however, claims like this are impossible to confirm.
The manufacturing of germ weapons has the potential to be extremely covert, taking place in ordinary laboratories that could also be used for harmless research, a stark comparison to the production of nuclear warheads which is harder to hide.
It was reported by state media that Kim Jong-un visited a pesticide facility in 2015, which may also have the capacity to make biological agents.
The US assessment report comes as United Nations diplomats in New York struggle to monitor the sanctions imposed on North Korea by the Security Council for its nuclear and ballistic missile testing.
The ‘Panel of Experts’ has issued numerous reports naming companies and governments that have allowed breaches of sanctions, by negligence or collusion.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, in Seoul on Tuesday speaking with a group of young North Korean defectors at the American Diplomacy House in Seoul
Now Russia has blocked the renewal of the panel’s mandate, which expires at the end of the month.
Moscow – a member of the Security Council – originally supported and voted for the sanctions when they were first imposed.
But now, in a blatant violation of those sanction, they are using North Korean weapons, including artillery shells, to attack Ukraine.
Other states that are members of the Security Council and who still support the sanctions are now considering an alternative.
One possibility is a new institution created by the UN General Assembly, rather than the Security Council.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, visited Seoul on Tuesday to discuss the issue with the South Korean government.