The Controversial US Bacterial Laboratory in Busan [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

The Jupiter Project of the US Forces Korea, which is facing opposition from North Korea and the surrounding region, is the US military's biochemical weapons defense strategy.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Controversy is expected to continue as the local community continues a closure campaign against the US military bacterial laboratory located in Busan.

Busan civic groups and citizens stated, “We have collected nearly 200,000 signatures in a resident referendum petition campaign asking whether to close the US military bacterial laboratory at Busan Port Pier 8,” adding, "This clearly shows the determination that the owners of this land are the citizens of Busan and that the decision on whether to close the US military bacterial laboratory will be made directly by Busan citizens."

The US Forces Korea (USFK) is operating the ‘JUPITER Program’ to prepare for North Korea’s biochemical attacks. Last year, the project was renamed CENTO and is ongoing. The JUPITER Program is a defense system that can protect the lives of citizens and USFK personnel from biochemical attacks through early detection, surveillance, analysis, and rapid information sharing. The USFK’s detection system and surveillance information sharing system are located in Osan, while the analysis system is conducted in Yongsan, Osan, and Gunsan.

The reason USFK selected Busan Pier 8 as the first site for the JUPITER Program is due to the large population concentration at Busan Port and the strategic importance of loading and unloading major military supplies of the US forces.

According to the ‘Northeast Asia Security Situation Analysis’ published by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), if all 2,500 to 5,000 tons of chemical agents possessed by North Korea were converted into chemical shells, between 625,000 and 1,250,000 shells could be produced. This calculation assumes 4 kg of chemical agent per chemical shell. The 5,000 tons of chemical agents could contaminate an area of 2,500 km², which is four times the size of Seoul.

The ROK-US alliance also selected about 700 Joint Defense Point Intercepts (JDPI), including biochemical weapon production facilities. In addition to North Korea’s bacterial storage facilities, missile warheads loaded with bacteria and Transporter Erector Launchers (TEL) were also included. Furthermore, ‘OPLAN 5015’ contains plans to prepare for North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as nuclear and missile threats, cyber warfare, and biochemical warfare.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.