North Korea claims that is developing its own vaccine against covid-19.
But experts suspect that the dictator Kim Jong-UN is using vaccines as a cover to add to your Arsenal of biological weapons.
Biotech giants all over the world compete to see who is the first to develop a vaccine to save the world from pandemic. But the US, EU and Japan are investing billions to ensure the production of millions of doses.
Against this background, the game suddenly entered another person — North Korea.
Just over a week ago closed Communist dictatorship announced that its scientists will soon begin producing a vaccine from covid-19. Animal testing has already been completed and are now conducted clinical trials on people.
Some experts rejected this information, considering it a bluff. North Korea is a very poor country, and also not too affected by the pandemic, although the official reports, if infected in the country do not, perhaps, an understatement.
So why Kim Jong Ynu to spend their scarce resources to the production of vaccine?
Many Western experts on North Korea believe that one reason may be his desire, under the pretext of a vaccine to acquire equipment that will ultimately allow the country to expand production of biological weapons of mass destruction.
Their arguments are as follows: North Korea is subjected to extensive sanctions, which do not allow the country to import a variety of goods, including everything that can be used to manufacture weapons. But humanitarian aid sanctions are often not levied. Therefore, the country can benefit from the pandemic, as all that is connected with coronavirus, could be considered “humanitarian”.
“For their vaccines they can buy equipment from the West or China, and next year use it for the production of biological weapons,” said Politico Andrew Weber (Andrew Weber), a former Deputy us Secretary of defense under President Obama.
Per vikström (Per Wikström) from Swedish Institute of Total defence agree with him.
“Of course, they really can be good intentions and a desire to create a vaccine. But if under the guise of humanitarian aid they will be able to get cutting-edge equipment, they may abuse it later,” he told Dagens Nyheter.
He stressed that biotechnology equipment, according to the scientists, often has the property of “dual use”. A bioreactor in which the cultured cells or microorganisms, it is possible for example to use how to get life-saving vaccines and for growing lethal bacteria.
Sellstrom ake (Åke Sällström), who for many years worked as a weapons inspector at the UN and traveled to hot spots, recalls how in 2002, visited on in Iraq, then where the rules of Saddam Hussein.
“We have the vaccine used as a cover for a process that actually was the production of biological weapons. The vaccine and weapons a lot in common: employees should be similar expertise and equipment. Inspectors need to pay attention to the equipment for safety. It differs from the usual, if we are talking about military production”.
North Korea regularly scares the world, brandishing its nuclear weapons and missiles of distant radius of action. Less attention is given to the program of production of biological weapons.
Biological weapons banned under the UN Convention, which was signed by almost all countries, including the DPRK. However, most experts believe that the country in the 1960-ies started to develop biological weapons.
“It is suspected that the potential they have, or at least were before,” says Peer vikström from the Institute of Total defence.
According to the reports of Western intelligence services the North Korean regime has access to, for example, anthrax (the anthrax) and variola virus that caused the deadly disease, which in 1980 declared eradicated worldwide.
Some fear that the alleged vaccine covid-19 may be for North Korea the opportunity to improve biotechnological competence, and perhaps even create a particularly dangerous form of coronavirus.
“They’re probably looking for something that no one else will be able to stop using the vaccine” — suggests a military expert and a member of the research center Rand Bruce Bennet (Bruce Bennett).
