South Korea is in the final stages of acquiring a homegrown anthrax vaccine after launching the development project more than two decades ago, a lawmaker said Thursday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) plans to apply for the vaccine's approval later this month based on the results of clinical trials, according to Rep. Lim Byung-heon of the ruling People Power Party, citing a KDCA report.
If the vaccine against the potentially deadly infectious disease is approved, homegrown production is expected to begin next year, Lim said.
The KDCA began the project in 2001 to prepare for possible biological terror attacks after 9/11 and the anthrax mailing attacks in the United States that year amid threats posed by North Korea's chemical and biological weapons programs.
South Korea has so far relied on anthrax vaccines produced by foreign companies, with the military currently possessing only 26,000 doses of such vaccines, according to Lim.
"While North Korea's nuclear and missile threats pose serious problems, biological attacks can also inflict terrible damage," Lim was quoted as saying. "Once production begins next year, it is expected to be of great help in responding to North Korea's biological terror."
North Korea is believed to possess around 2,500 to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons and have the ability to produce biological weapons, including anthrax, smallpox and the bubonic plague, according to South Korea's Defense White Paper.
Source: Yonhap News Agency