December 2006
In its 2006 Defense White Paper, the South Korean Ministry of
Defense stated with respect to North Korea's chemical and biological
weapons programs, "It is assessed that North Korea has been producing
poison gas and biological weapons since the 1980s. It is believed that 2,500 to
5,000 tons of a variety of agents including nerve agents remain stored in a
number of facilities...and that North Korea is able to produce biological
weapons such as the bacteria of anthrax, smallpox, and cholera."
--Ministry of Defense, Republic of Korea, 2006 Defense White Paper
(English translation), May 2007, p. 74, www.mnd.go.kr;
"White Paper Defines North Korea as "Grave Threat',"
The Korea Herald, 29 December 2006, OSC Document
KPP20061229971064.
11 January 2007
In testimony before the US
Senate, Lieutenant General Michael Maples, Director of the US Defense
Intelligence Agency, reaffirmed US suspicions regarding North Korea's
weapons of mass destruction programs. With respect to chemical weapons, Maples
stated, "DIA believes North Korea has had a longstanding chemical weapons
stockpile of nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents."
--Michael D. Maples, statement before US Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, "Current and Projected National Security Threats to the
United States," 11 January 2007, p.13.
14 September 2007
The US Department of State released the 2007 International Religious Freedom
Report, which cited unconfirmed reports that North Korean prisoners detained for
their religious beliefs may have been made human subjects for chemical and
biological agent testing by the North Korean government. The report further
notes that these allegations are very difficult to verify independently.
Previous editions of the International Religious Freedom Report contain similar language.
--Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, US Department
of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2007, 14 September 2007,
www.state.gov.
10 October 2007
A South Korean lawmaker, citing intelligence data, claimed that
North Korea developed a new short-range missile capable of delivering chemical
warheads. The missile, known as the KN-2, is propelled by solid fuel, has a
range of roughly 120 km, and may carry up to a 500 kg payload. According to one
report, the KN-2 is based on the Russian SS-21 missile.
--"North
Korea Develops Short-Range Chemical Warhead Capable Missile," BBC
Monitoring Asia Pacific, 11 October 2007, in Lexis-Nexis,
www.lexisnexis.com; Jin Dae-woong, "North Korea's New
Missile Can Carry Chemical Warheads," The Korea Herald, 18 October
2007, in Lexis-Nexis, www.lexisnexis.com.
27 November 2007
A Taiwanese official announced the government was investigating the
Yicheng Company, a Taiwanese trading firm, on suspicion it had illegally
exported an industrial filtering device to North Korea via China. The filtering
device could be used in plutonium extraction and chemical and biological weapons manufacture.
--Debby Wu, "Taiwan Investigates Company for
Allegedly Selling Nuclear-Related Equipment to North Korea," Associated
Press, 27 November 2007, in Lexis-Nexis, www.lexisnexis.com.
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Updated July 2008 |
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