In addition to Florida, the United States is now finding cases of anthrax infection in New York and Nevada as well. NBC and the New York Times have received postal matter containing white powder suspected of being biological warfare agents. Nothing has been found that proves these are acts of terror, but then nothing has been found that proves otherwise. What is clear is that this is no ordinary situation.

Bio-chemical weapons, compared to conventional or nuclear weapons, can be characterized by the way they cost very little to produce, are easy to transport and spread, and yet have an effectiveness of climactic proportions. Ten grams of anthrax would kill half the population of Seoul in ten days. The same amount of the smallpox virus would infect five million in two or three. At the same time there is little that can be done; if someone releases bacteria in the air or puts toxins in the water supply, then the worst is going to happen. This is why the military powers that had been competing with each other in production of bio-chemical weapons signed a treaty against them in 1972, even though the promises made have been largely titular ever since. Defenses against bio-chemical attack can be little more than the limited means of vigilance against potential threats, the securing of ample amounts of vaccines, and the preparation of a rapid response network for epidemic control.

We, too, are exposed to the threat of biological warfare. Korea is one of the more densely populated countries in the world, and is considered particularly weak to biochemical attack. North Korea experts estimate that the North has eight biochemical factories, 5000 tons of sarin and other poison gasses, and more than 1000 tons of biochemical weapons such as anthrax, cholera, and pestilence. There are reports that Osama bin Laden once purchased the anthrax virus from North Korea.

Now is the time for the government to prepare state-level, wide ranging, and detailed measures to deal with biological warfare. The military is in the midst of a five-year plan that began in 1999, one that includes spending W350 billion in equipment and personnel for fighting biological attacks; now this plan should be reviewed, and maybe there needs to be an adjustment in the scale and pace. The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs began supplying gas masks in 1998, but the project has not been well received. Now that the situation has changed, maybe the idea deserves renewed attention. Schools as well as neighborhood associations, military reserve forces, and civil defense forces need to be trained to deal with biochemical warfare, and this enlightenment needs to be effective.

(October 13, 2001)