Stalinist North Korea, which has reportedly stockpiled up to 5 000 tons of chemical weapons, is believed to be capable of nearly doubling its stocks in one year, South Korea’s defense ministry said Monday.
The North is also fully prepared for biological warfare, according to a ministry report presented to parliament.
The communist state’s stockpile of chemical weapons, which consists of 17 different types, is now between 2 500 tons and 5 000 tons, the report said.
Pyongyang is presumed to be able to produce some
4 500 tons of chemical weapons annually, it added.
The South’s defense ministry report also said the North has retained 13 different lethal germs to be used for biological warfare and is believed to be able to produce a ton of biological weapons material every year, it added.
The United States has branded North Korea as part of an ”axis of evil” and stands accused of spreading weapons of mass destruction. The North has refused to take part in an international treaty against chemical weapons, even after joining a pact against biological weapons in 1987. – Sapa-AFP