Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States military forces have trained together for years to deter the use of the world’s most hazardous materials near the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea.
Military and civilian personnel from the U.S. Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command routinely deploy to South Korea for bilateral training and exercises. U.S. Soldiers with the 45th CBRN Company (Hazardous Response), based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, rotated to South Korea in February 2024 in support of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
North Korea’s impulsive dispersal of hundreds of mysterious, trash-laden balloons over the border in late May and early June 2024 highlighted the importance of the allies’ long-standing initiatives to investigate and thwart such threats. The Kim Jong Un regime’s actions violate international law and the armistice that halted Korean War fighting in 1953, according to the United Nations Command, which oversees compliance with the ceasefire agreement.
The U.S. State Department recently reported that, despite being a signatory to the global Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention prohibiting the stockpiling and use of biological weapons, the Kim regime possesses the “technical capability to produce bacteria, viruses, and toxins” for biological agents.
Sewage can provide a medium for such agents, according to researchers.
In contrast, South Korean balloons often carry humanitarian supplies, entertainment and even money for its northern neighbors
U.S. Army Hazardous Response companies support civil authorities and conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and decontamination operations with partner forces worldwide. CBRNE commands are charged with countering hazards at operational and tactical levels. They integrate, coordinate and train to enhance their capacities to assess, protect and mitigate threats and hazards.
Soldiers and civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 U.S. states to prepare for and confront hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.
The 45th CBRN Company quickly went to work during its recent rotation in South Korea. “We conducted an emergency deployment readiness exercise six days after our main body flight arrived on the Korean Peninsula,” Capt. Michael Vane, the company’s commander, said in a news release. “By successfully alerting, marshaling and executing our core mission essential tasks, we displayed our ability to ‘fight tonight’ and to be ready to answer our nation’s call whenever needed.”
ROK and U.S. forces participated in a CBRNE exercise on biological threats in early June. Adaptive Shield 2024 included sessions on responding to a pathogen’s spread among military forces or civilian populations. The exercise sought to identify the allies’ capabilities and needs and improve whole-of-government interoperability.
