Nuclear Program of North Korea - Biological and Chemical Weapons

Biological and Chemical Weapons

North Korea acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention in 1987, and the Geneva Protocol on January 4, 1989, but has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. The U.S. Department of Defense believes North Korea probably has a chemical weapons program and is likely to possess a stockpile of weapons. It reportedly acquired the technology necessary to produce tabun and mustard gas as early as the 1950s.

Since 1989 North Korea has been believed to have the capability to indigenously produce nerve, blister, choking and blood chemical agents in bulk. Furthermore, North Korea has spent substantial resources in defensive measures such as extensive training in the use of gas masks, suits, detectors and decontamination systems for both the civilian populace and the military.

North Korea maintains at least eight industrial facilities that are capable of creating biochemical weaponry. The United States estimates North Korea’s likely stockpile of chemical weaponry from at least a few hundred tons, to at most a few thousand tons. Using a study by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, it was confirmed that there was a stockpile of biological and chemical weaponry. South Korea estimates North Korea to have roughly 5,000 tons worth of biological and chemical weapons.

The South Korean government further estimated production capability, with a low of 4,500 tons in peacetime, and a high of 12,000 tons in wartime. However, during the 1990s, natural disasters and increasing economic restrictions hindered North Korea’s ability to manufacture biochemical weapons. Under emergency situations, North Korea may be able to create up to 20,000 tons of chemical agents annually. The range of chemical weapons North Korea had been capable of producing during the nineties was said to hold a plethora of weapons, such as: adamsite (DM), chloroacetophenone (CN), chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS), hydrogen cyanide (AC), mustard-family (H or HD), phosgene (CG and CX), sarin (GB), soman (GD), tabun (GA), and V-agents (VM and VX).

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea likely concentrated on weapons such as mustard, phosgene, sarin, and V-agents for operational and technical reasons. North Korea may have also began the production of binary agents. Binary agents are toxic only when the two chemicals (normally physically separated) are combined. By creating binary agents, North Korea can increase their safety when handling hazardous material. Deployment of chemical and biological weapons is fairly simple and can be fired from artillery, dropped from aircraft, or fired from any other delivery system. North Korean military units conduct regular nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) training exercises in a chemical environment. North Korean chemical and biological warfare units are equipped with decontamination and detection equipment. In 2010, the Omaha World-Herald reported that North Korea has chemical weapons which could cause millions of casualties in South Korea, where gas masks are only provided to the military and top government officials.