North Korea could be mass producing biological weapons to unleash smallpox and plague: Report

A new study by the Belfer Centre, a US thinktank, warns that Pyongyang is likely to have a programme to develop its biological weaponry.

Based on testimony from defectors, it is believed to have begun in the 1960s after the Korean War between 1950 and 1953 caused the deaths of thousands in outbreaks of cholera, typhus, typhoid, and smallpox which the regime blamed on biological attacks by the US.

Following the assassination of Kim Jong-un's brother Kim Jong-nam in Malaysia with the deadly nerve agent VX in February which reputedly came from the Pyongyang Bio-technical Institute. The state research centre is run by the North Korean Army and was visited by the dictator himself according to photos which emerged in 2015. It is thought to be producing several different diseases and manmade biological weapons that the US deems dangerous such as plague, anthrax, viral haemorrhagic fevers and smallpox.

South Korean intelligence believes there are at least three possible biological weapons production facilities and seven research centres associated with developing them. The authors of the report say although the majority of the international community's attention has been focused on the ramping up of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, their biological programme also needs attention. They said: "Preparation against BW [biological weapons] is urgent and necessary, which will also serve as defence against naturally occurring epidemics that increasingly threaten the 21st century. "Military and public health sectors should cooperate to urgently prepare for 'dual-response' mechanisms."

Components of a well-established 'dual-response' program should include the best possible threat assessment by military and intelligence communities, a strong public health detection and response system, a well-coordinated crisis communication strategy.