North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea carries anthrax antibodies

A North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea has antibodies to a dangerous disease, a worrying finding because Seoul has no vaccine to prevent the disease.

A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea. Photo: AFP.

South Korea has discovered that a North Korean soldier who defected has anthrax antibodies in his blood, Channel A television reported yesterday, citing an unnamed South Korean intelligence official. It is not clear whether the North Korean soldier was exposed to anthrax or was vaccinated against the disease.

South Korean officials did not disclose who they were among the four North Korean soldiers who defected to South Korea this year. They defected on June 12, June 18, November 13 and December 20.

The news has caused concern in South Korea, as the disease, which can kill 80 percent of those infected, is those exposed to the bacteria, according to UPI.

The discovery comes after Japan's Asahi newspaper reported that North Korea has begun testing anthrax on the tip of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Asahi cited an intelligence source as saying that North Korea "has been conducting high-pressure and high-temperature tests to see if anthrax bacteria can survive temperatures of 7,000 degrees Celsius or higher, the temperature an ICBM reaches when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere."

US President Donald Trump also asserted that the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "is pursuing chemical and biological weapons, which can be delivered by missiles," Mr. Trump said in his first National Security Strategy on December 19. North Korea has denied the accusation.

Choi Hyun-soo, a spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, said Seoul does not yet have an anthrax vaccine. South Korea plans to develop one by the end of 2019.

According to a report by the Belfer Center at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in late October, North Korea is now believed to have 13 types of bacteria, including those that cause botulism, cholera, smallpox, and anthrax. The vehicles of transmission could include missiles, aircraft, drones, and aerosols. The report said North Korea could use human vectors to transmit the disease, given its 200,000 special forces.

According to VNE