North Korea: Biological Weapons

(asked on 25th October 2017) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in October, North Korea's Biological Weapons Program, which concluded that North Korea has the potential for a large-scale biological weapons programme and that the threats "must be considered a realistic proposition and addressed by the international community".


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 7th November 2017

We are aware of the report. As a State Party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is prohibited from developing, producing and stockpiling biological and toxin weapons. Under the Confidence Building Measures first established in 1986, States Parties are required to submit annual returns on specified activities and facilities. The DPRK has only ever submitted one such return, in 1990. This makes it difficult for the international community to have confidence that they are meeting their obligations under the Convention.

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