The South Korean government organized a task force with the United States on Sunday to jointly investigate a U.S. military laboratory's wrongful shipment of live anthrax samples to a U.S. military base in South Korea.
"The government formed a joint working group composed of officials of relevant offices and experts under the joint Seoul-Washington committee on the Status of Forces Agreement to find the facts of the incident and work on a prevention-recurrence measure," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
South Korean civic groups hold a rally, protesting the shipment of anthrax by the U.S. military in front of Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, Saturday. (Yonhap)
According to the Pentagon, a U.S. military laboratory in Utah sent samples of live anthrax spores to the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, as well as military and commercial laboratories in nine U.S. states by accident. The deadly biological agent was supposed to have been killed before being distributed for research.
The working group will visit the laboratory in the Osan Air Base, the scene of the incident, this month as part of the investigation, the ministry said. (Yonhap)
