While North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are no secret, the rogue regime keeps its other weapons of mass destruction interests hidden.
While North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are no secret, the rogue regime keeps its other weapons of mass destruction interests hidden, denying any active chemical or biological weapons programs.
The North has built factories and acquired machines capable of producing biological weapons in bulk, the Washington Post reported Monday, but Pyongyang has yet to order the producing of such weapons. North Korea has also experimented with various pathogens, such as anthrax and smallpox.
“That the North Koreans have [biological] agents is known, by various means,” a senior U. S. official familiar with military preparations for a biological attack, told The Post, further commenting, “The lingering question is, why have they acquired the materials and developed the science, but not yet produced weapons?”
The official acknowledged that there are numerous intelligence gaps, and that it’s very likely the North could produce biological weapons without the U. S. knowing. “If it started tomorrow we might not know it,” the official explained, “unless we’re lucky enough to have an informant who happens to be in just the right place.”
The state of North Korea’s biological weapons program is debated, with some arguing that North Korea is already producing weapons and others asserting that the regime has yet to begin production.
