Is North Korea more than a nuclear threat?

WASHINGTON- While North Korea’s nuclear tests and threats continue to be a priority for the U.S. some experts warn not to ignore the biological, chemical and cyber capabilities of the regime.

North Korea has approximately 2,500 to 5,000 metric tons of chemical weapons agents including Sarin and VX, referred to as nerve agents because of their ability to disrupt the transmission of nerve impulses in the nervous system, according to the National Threat Initiative, a think tank that designs threat-reduction ideas.

North Korea is one of six countries that hasn’t signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms control treaty that regulates the production and use of chemical weapons.

Early last year, Kim Jong Un’s exiled half-brother was assassinated in Malaysia after two women reportedly wiped his face with cloths believed to have contained the chemical nerve agent VX. Although North Korea publicly denied any involvement in the attack, some interpret the incident as a show of North Korea’s chemical weapons capability.

According to experts, North Korea’s chemical capabilities are more extensive than their biological capabilities.

“The chemical capabilities are probably more robust based on what we know and based on the ease of producing those types of weapons and their biological weapons are probably least available for use,” according to John Parachini, director of the Intelligence Policy Center at RAND Corporation.

He added that both capabilities are a greater threat to South Korea and neighboring countries than to the United States.

North Korea has also continued to strengthen its cyber capabilities, and experts warn that although meddling in a U.S. election might not be in its playbook, it is important not to underestimate their cyber capabilities.

“I think they’re going for the ability to use cyber in a pre- and war-time environment and you look at some of their activities in South Korea and that’s clear,” said Anthony Ruggiero, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

North Korea was accused of the 2014 hacking of SONY Pictures Entertainment, an accusation the government denied. However, it’s been widely reported that the message from the hackers who called themselves Guardians of Peace looked similar to one sent to South Korean banks in 2013, an attack that was also attributed to North Korea.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported a new “hacking offensive against cryptocurrency investors.” The malware is reportedly similar to the one used in the SONY attacks.

But Parachini acknowledged that despite North Korea’s continued efforts to advance its chemical, biological and cyber capabilities, the priority for the Trump administration right now should be the nuclear threat.