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Testimony from Ch'oe Ju Hwal (a former member of the North Korean armed forces) before the U.S. Congress in 1997 named "Lizut" (Lewisite) as being one of many CW agents the DPRK possesses in its chemical arsenal. (It is possible that North Korean defectors, wittingly or unwittingly, have mentioned this agent in their testimonies after having been coached by American or ROK intelligence services, and may not in fact have had direct knowledge of its existence in the DPRK chemical arsenal.) Manufacturing facilities in the DPRK that are allegedly involved in the manufacture of blister agents, possibly including Lewisite, are the April 25 Vinalon Factory, Factory No. 297 (No. 297 Research Institute), February 8th Vinalon Factory, Manp'o Chemical Factory, Namhŭng Youth Chemical Plant, Sŭnch'on Calcium Cyanamide Fertilizer Factory and the Sŭnch'on Vinalon Complex. It is not known in what quantity North Korea produces or stockpiles Lewisite. As was done in the former Soviet Union, Lewisite could be combined with mustard, another blister agent that has delayed effects. This mixture of two effective and relatively persistent agents would be faster acting than mustard alone (by dint of the Lewisite component), and would also lower the freezing point of the agent for use in winter. Lewisite could serve as an effective casualty agent for aerosol delivery against troops and ground contamination for purposes of area denial.
 Technical Description
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Updated February 2006 |
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 This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.
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