Seoul Yongsan Police office announced at around 10:00am Saturday that a person identified as Kim, 39, reported suspicious white powder scattered on a pavement and overpass in front of the Crown Hotel in Yongsan-gu. Upon receiving the report, mindful of the anthrax reports in the US, some 20 police officers and biological warfare troops moved to the area to investigate. They withdrew after 30 minutes when chemical analysis showed that the powder was plain flour.

According to investigators, workers at a USFK hospital sprinkled the flour during a hare and hounds race in the morning. Police said other citizens also reported the flour, adding that the chemical tests to identify the ingredients was performed as authorities are very sensitive about terrorist attacks using biological warfare.

(Baek Seung-jae, whitesj@chosun.com )