North Korea gains bioweapon expertise as tension escalates

North Korea, on expanding their nuclear weapons might pose a threat to the US mainland.

north korea leader kim jong-un
(KCNA/Reuters)

Since their first nuclear test in 2006, North Korea has been busy expanding their arsenal comprising nuclear weapons and ICBM capable of striking major points under the sky, especially the US mainland. In the meantime, the rogue nation has also reportedly developed advanced bioweapons which could bring about chaos among people in the affected area.

Dreaded biological warfare on the cards

According to reports from the US Intelligence, the Kim Jong-un regime had acquired the pathogens that cause smallpox and anthrax long ago, but during that time the country lacked certain skills which were necessary to make these pathogens a dangerous weapon. Now, things have been cleared, and North Korea has reportedly acquired the essential types of machinery needed to accelerate their bioweapons programme.

U.S. and Asian intelligence officials and weapons experts say that North Korea is now capable of producing tonnes of microbes from their factories which can spread dreaded diseases in all nooks of the globe. As per these experts, the country also has a dedicated laboratory specialized in genetic modification. North Korea is now trying to sell these biotechnology services to the developing world to improve their already striving economy.

As North Korea is busy assimilating all kinds of mass destruction weapons, tensions have started escalating in the Korean peninsula. Many political experts believe that a military action could be soon initiated by the US, as Donald Trump has said a month back that 'only one thing' will work with Rocketman.

Biological weapons being made undercover

North Korea is a land of secrets, and everything in the country is controlled and monitored by the Supreme leader Kim Jong-un. For years, the country has denied claims of developing biological weapons, and when Kim visited Pyongyang Biotechnical Institute in 2015, the state media reported that he was there to examine the progress of developing insecticides that can be used to kill caterpillars eating up the country's cabbage crops.

But when US analysts studied the video of Kim's visit, they found out that the biotechnical institute is equipped with advanced machinery which can be used for growing bulk quantities of live microbes. The country has also reportedly acquired machines capable of turning billions of bacterial spores into a fine powder that can be easily dispersed.

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