US Intelligence Agencies Conclude After Three Months of Deliberation: COVID-19 Is Not a Biological Weapon

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] After 18 U.S. intelligence agencies collaborated for 90 days, they reached a consensus that COVID-19 was not developed as a biological weapon. However, they were unable to draw a clear conclusion on whether COVID-19 was created in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, or transmitted to humans from an infected animal.

On the 28th (local time), according to the Washington Post (WP) and others, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) reported the findings on the origin of COVID-19 to President Joe Biden this week and disclosed key details. Earlier, President Biden had instructed intelligence agencies to prepare a report to reach a clearer conclusion on the origin of COVID-19 after reviewing various materials. The report was compiled with the participation of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies over 90 days.

According to the disclosed key points, U.S. intelligence authorities have clearly ruled out the possibility that COVID-19, which has claimed about 4.5 million lives worldwide so far, was developed as a biological weapon. However, opinions remain divided on whether the virus leaked from a laboratory or occurred naturally, which was the background for the report.

Several intelligence agencies judged that COVID-19 was likely transmitted to humans through natural exposure to an infected animal, but they did not have full confidence in this conclusion. One agency expressed some confidence that the first human infection may have resulted from an accident related to a laboratory. The report predicted that reaching a conclusion on the virus's origin would be difficult without cooperation from the Chinese government.

In a statement following the release of the report, President Biden said that decisive information lies with China, but China has blocked international investigative teams from accessing this information from the start, and he vowed to continue applying pressure. President Biden emphasized, "China has so far refused to be transparent and has withheld information. The world deserves answers, and I will not rest until we get them. Responsible nations do not evade this kind of accountability."

Earlier this year, a World Health Organization (WHO) research team that visited Wuhan concluded that the virus likely spread from animals sold at the Wuhan market. In contrast, China made baseless claims that the virus originated from the U.S. military facility, Fort Detrick. The WHO expert group expressed concern that as time passes, it will become biologically impossible to collect evidence tracing back to the virus's origin. They urged researchers and governments to conduct studies promptly, stating, "The window of opportunity to conduct a decisive investigation is closing."

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