South Korea Plans to Revise Law to Meet Obligations Under Biological Weapons Convention

South Korea plans to revise a law banning chemical weapons so that it can comply with the international Biological Weapons Convention, Yonhap News reported today (see GSN, March 29).

A bill is expected to be submitted to lawmakers this year, and would take effect in June 2006.

If the law were changed, South Korea would require new safeguards to prevent biological weapon proliferation. These would include requirements that companies that produce biological agents for commercial purposes report to the government on their activities and follow strict protocol during production. These companies would also be required to report any changes to their manufacturing processes, Yonhap reported.

If companies do not follow the new rules, they would not be permitted to continue production and existing agents made by the company would be destroyed (Yonhap News, June 13).

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