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North Korea reportedly manufactures large quantities of nerve agents, of which sarin (GB) may comprise the largest portion of the stockpile. (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.) Specifically, the Kanggye Chemical Factory is reported to be responsible for sarin production. The following facilities have been implicated in the production of nerve agents for the DPRK military, although there is no specific information on what types of nerve agents are being produced: April 25 Vinalon Factory, February 8th Vinalon Factory, Hwasong Chemical Factory, and the Hwasun Chemical Complex. Some earlier estimates put DPRK stocks of sarin in the thousands of tons, but these figures have been significantly revised in their proportion to other CW agents in the North Korean stockpile. Currently it is not known in what quantity North Korea produces or stockpiles sarin. As a relatively volatile compound (the same volatility as water), sarin could be used against troop concentrations, but could not serve to contaminate large areas for a period of days or weeks.
 Technical Description
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Updated March 2003 |
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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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