North Korea creating viruses, bacteria & ‘poison pen’ weapons to spread diseases, claims US intelligence
NORTH Korea is feared to be creating lethal viruses and bacteria as part of Kim Jong-un's biological warfare programme, according to US intelligence.
The US claims that the tyrant has added germ sprays and poison pens capable of spreading lethal diseases like smallpox and anthrax, to his already immense arsenal.
Several experts from the US State Department, who monitor foreign governments' compliance with arms regulations, have warned that these biological weapons could prove more dangerous than nukes.
The report from the US State Department reads: "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.
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"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 report concluded that Kim Jong-un has an "offensive BW program" which is in violation of its global obligations.
US intelligence also determined that North Korea has had biological weapons in its arsenal since the 1960s - if not before.
In 2020, biological weapons expert Andrew Weber raised fears that Kim was using the global Covid-19 crisis to build biological weapons.
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Weber has also previously warned that North Korea is more likely to use biological weapons than nukes.
Back in 2017, The Sun reported that North Korean chemists were thought to be weaponising some of the world’s deadliest diseases such as smallpox, Black Death, and cholera.
A report released by the Belfer Centre of Harvard University's Kennedy School at the time said that it was already known that the state had biological weapons.
The bigger concern at hand is that North Korea has the industrial facilities to mass produce these weapons, and proceed to spread them with missiles, drones, planes, and sprayers.
That report stated: “While nuclear programs can be monitored by the number of nuclear tests and the success of missile tests, weaponise and cultivating pathogens can stay invisible behind closed doors.
“Moreover, equipment used for BW production are often dual-use for agriculture, making external monitoring and verification virtually impossible.”
Meanwhile, Kim has been test-firing rocket launchers and self-propelled artillery shells toward the Yellow Sea, whilst telling his soldiers to prepare for "actual war".
The state media added that this test-firing drill "fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence".
Kim also insisted that his military was scaling up its preparation for war so that the artillery sub-units could deliver "merciless and rapid strikes" the second war breaks out.
Tensions between South and North Korea
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have recently risen to their highest point in years - with Kim accelerating his weapons testing and South strengthening their joint war drills with the US.
- Hopes for reunification shut
In January, Kim Jong-un has scrapped any effort for reunification with Seoul.
The dictator shut down several government bodies tasked with promoting reconciliation with South Korea.
He was quoted saying: "We don’t want war but we have no intention of avoiding it."
Kim also appeared to have blown up a major monument in North Korea's capital that symbolised hope for unity.
The move is thought to have been a deliberate choice by the dictator, signalling his refusal to unite with his country's "enemy".
- Kim ramps up weapon testing
From the start of 2024, North Korea has tested multiple types of missile systems.
In January, the North's military fired a new intermediate-range, solid-fuel hypersonic missile - which Washington, Seoul and Tokyo condemned as a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
A week later, North Korea tested its nuclear underwater attack drone which is reportedly capable of sparking a "radioactive tsunami".
The US and its Asian allies have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises - which Kim calls rehearsals for invasion.
- At the brink of war
The current South Korean government is led by president Yoon Suk Yeol, who shares hawkish view of North Korea compared to his predecessor.
He has increased efforts to collaborate with the US and Japan to combat the North's aggressive moves in a bid to deter the war.
In turn, Kim threatened to "annihilate" Seoul if provoked and vowed to enhance his country's ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the US and America's allies in the Pacific.
Experts say that Kim is trying to stoke up anger by conducting more missile tests and possibly launching small-scale physical attacks on its neighbour to meddle with South Korea' s elections this month.
