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North Korea was stopped at the last moment in its attempt to import from Thailand sodium cyanide, a toxic chemical used to make sarine nerve gas. The chemical at issue was originally exported by a South Korean chemical company to Thailand, which then tried to export it to North Korea.
According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy, Korean companies have exported to Thailand a total of 3,799 tons of sodium cyanide up until August this year from 2002. In August alone, some 1,031 tons were exported and 142 tons of them were detected and collected on its way to North Korea by the monitoring system of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). This could be done due to information from the United States. Moreover, besides Thailand, South Korea export the chemical material to some 10 nations such as Russia, China and Indonesia, but it is difficult to confirm whether those countries have exported it to North Korea. Thus, who could know whether the chemical may have fallen into the hands of North Korea.
Sodium cyanide is usually used to make pesticide or gild metals but can be easily turned into sarin gas, a chemical weapon. This is why the chemical is treated as a strategic material that needs permission to import or export it according to the ¡°International Multilateral Export Control.¡± It is the very deadly chemical that killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000 in the subway attack by a cult in Tokyo nine years ago.
Although North Korea, world¡¯s third largest possessor of chemical weapons, still secretively tries to import raw material to produce chemical weapons, the Korean government is not able to find that without information from the U.S.. What is worse, it attempted to hide the incident from the public before admitting it responding to questions from opposition lawmakers, while saying it tried to handle the incident quietly. This raises questions about for whom this government exists.
Arguments are now spreading in the society that the threat from North Korea is no loner present or is not so serious as to cause worry. This is the background for those who argue for the abolishment of the National Security Law. The stark reality, however, is that North Korea is still engaging in developing nuclear and chemical weapons and South Korea does not have the will, information or ability to stop it.
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