South Korea will thoroughly investigate the mistaken shipment of a live anthrax sample from the United States to an American military base in South Korea to prevent a similar incident in the future, the Defense Ministry said Friday.

Releasing the outcome of its probe into the shipments of live anthrax samples to laboratories inside and outside of the U.S. disclosed in May, the Pentagon said earlier in the day that 86 laboratories in America and seven foreign countries, including South Korea, Japan and Germany, had received active samples of the lethal bacterium.

The report cited deficient protocols and inefficiency in inactivating the anthrax before shipping the samples to other labs as the main reasons for the shipment of live anthrax specimens.

"Our government will thoroughly carry out fact-finding over the delivery mistake of Bacillus anthracis through the South Korea-U.S. joint working group to dispel any suspicions," the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

"Based on the investigation, the ministry will come up with effective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents and to make utmost efforts to quell public concerns and guarantee public health and security," it also noted.

Seoul and Washington formed the joint working group earlier this month after the shipment of the live anthrax sample to a U.S. lab in Osan stoked concerns the shipment was made in breach of the local law, which requires authorization before bringing any lethal material into the country. (Yonhap)