Biosecurity

New report sheds light on North Korea's deadly biological weapons

In addition to its nuclear capabilities, North Korea has the ability to douse thousands of people with lethal doses of anthrax, smallpox and viral hemorrhagic fever according to a newly released report from the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

Kim Jong-un’s regime is thought to have the third-largest chemical weapons supply in the world, and its arsenal includes at least 13 types of biological weapons. The Belfer report on the Hermit Kingdom’s biological weapons spells out the magnitude of the problem and indicates the information that is still missing. As it turns out, the threat from the isolated Asian nation isn’t limited to nukes and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“North Korea has a very advanced biological weapons program, and it is extremely dangerous because it can be delivered covertly,” Andrew Weber, a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said in an interview with Mic. “Honestly, I wish these threats were taken as seriously as the nuclear weapons threat — because they should be.”