South Korea's military said Monday that Pyongyang is presumed to be operating a regiment-level biochemical weapons unit, highlighting the need for the country to be prepared for unconventional attacks.

Seoul is paying more attention to Pyongyang's development of biochemical weapons after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong-nam was killed in Malaysia earlier this month. The eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il died on Feb. 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparently being poisoned with VX nerve agent. The deadly agent is classified as a chemical weapon and banned around the world.
 

During the meeting with the Bareun Party, the Ministry of National Defense said North Korea is operating production facilities for chemical and biological weapons, and has a stockpile of such materials that can be used in any attack.

The military said it plans to bolster its detection capabilities against North Korea's possible biochemical provocation.

Rep. Oh Shin-hwan of the Bareun Party said the party will spare no expense to support the military's upgrade of its defense capabilities in the face of growing unconventional weapons threats. (Yonhap)