Report: North Korea Testing Anthrax Warheads for Ballistic Missiles
The White House said on Monday that North Korea is pursuing 'nuclear, chemical and biological weapons'
North Korea began tests to load anthrax onto intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Japanese newspaper Asahi reported Wednesday, citing a South Korean source.
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The source said that Pyongang is testing the germ-leaden missiles with heat and pressure at degrees of 7,000 degrees or higher to see if anthrax can survive the heat. When an intercontinental ballistic missile reenters the earth's atmosphere, it could reach about 7000 degrees of heat.
The White House said in its new National Security Strategy, issued on Monday, that North Korea is pursuing "nuclear, chemical and biological weapons."
According to the Asahi, Washington had allegedly known that North Korea was culturing anthrax for a while.
North Korea has a store of between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, South Korea has previously said, adding that it was capable of producing biological agents like anthrax and smallpox.
In November, North Korea claimed it completed its nuclear force when it launched a Hwasaong-15 ICBM. South Korea's assessment said the missile could potentially fly about 8,000 miles towards Washington, but the assessment could not ascertain whether or not the missile could survive reentry.