North Korea continues to maintain a covert biological weapons program in violation of international treaties, according to a newly released U.S. government report.
Biological weapons use pathogens such as bacteria or viruses to sicken or kill. Their invisible nature and devastating potential make them one of the most insidious forms of weaponry.
“The United States assesses that the DPRK has a dedicated, national-level offensive [biological weapons] program,” the State Department said in its 2025 report on global compliance with arms control and disarmament agreements.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK – North Korea’s official name – has long drawn suspicion for its clandestine research including nuclear weapons.
According to the report, the regime possesses “the technical capability to produce bacteria, viruses, and toxins that could be used as BW [biological weapons] agents” and is also capable of genetically engineering biological materials.
Even more concerning, it said, is Pyongyang’s potential capacity to deploy these weapons using unconventional and covert delivery systems.
“Pyongyang probably is capable of weaponizing BW agents with unconventional systems such as sprayers and poison pen injection devices, which have been deployed by the DPRK for delivery of chemical weapons and could be used to covertly deliver BW agents,” the report said.
Despite being a State Party to the Biological Weapons Convention, or BWC, since 1987 – a treaty that bans the development, production, and stockpiling of such weapons – North Korea has shown little intention of abiding by its commitments.
Hellbound and Down 