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N. Korea's bio-chem warfare threat
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea has delivered its starkest warning yet in its ongoing nuclear standoff with the United States. On Sunday, North Korea's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun accused the CIA of preparing a surprise attack on the communist country's nuclear facilities. Pyongyang's mouthpiece said such a conflict would cause "nuclear disasters" across Asia and the entire world. ('Horrifying disasters') U.S. officials have confirmed North Korea has restarted its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, and say it appears Pyongyang may also be preparing to begin reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods. But North Korea is already believed to have other kinds of weapons of mass destruction -- of the chemical and biological variety (CBW). The exact size and scope of North Korea's chemical and biological arsenal is not known but Pyongyang is thought to have about 5,000 tons of chemical agents, plus an ample stock of biological agents. U.S. forces stationed in South Korea are training on the assumption that in the event of conflict, chemical and biological weapons will be used. As well as being able to carry on fighting during a chemical or biological attack, the troops need to know how to identify an agent and decontaminate equipment and machinery. North Korea has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, and is unlikely to do so as the pact requires international inspections of ratifying countries. This would also provide a disclosure of the extent of North Korea' chemical weapons capability. Experts believe North Korea's secretive chemical weapons program includes thousands of tons each of blistering mustard gas and the sarin nerve agent. North Korea also has unknown quantities of other nerve agents like VX, blood agents, choking gasses and riot control agents. The chemicals can be delivered via ballistic missiles, bombs and artillery. Pyongyang's indigenous chemical weapons program began in 1981 and construction of its chemical arsenal accelerated in the first half of the 1990s. By comparison, the maturity of North Korea's bioweapons (BW) program is at such a level that the United States ranks it just behind Iraq's germ warfare capability. Pyongyang's BW research and development began in the 1960s and is believed to have gone as far as producing and weaponizing some agents, according to international peace and security thinktank, the Henry L. Stimson Center. Biological agents are thought to include anthrax, cholera and bubonic plague. If effectively deployed, North Korea's chemical and biological weapons could cause massive casualties to civilians and the military. And there are indications that in the event of war, Pyongyang would unleash such weaponry. Its army is ready to fight in a contaminated war zone -- troops are outfitted with protective gear, chemical weapons detection and decontamination system. Though chemical weapons have only been used sporadically since World War II -- most recently in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war -- the threat posed by Pyongyang's CBW is a sobering reminder of just how nasty a modern war on the Korean Peninsula could be. -- CNN Correspondent Rebecca MacKinnon contributed to this report.
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