Seoul mulls SOFA revision after anthrax accident

South Korea is considering revising its military agreement with the U.S. to prevent another accidental shipment of live anthrax to the South, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday.

Safety jitters over biological weapons flared up after the U.S. military said last month a U.S. Defense Department laboratory had mistakenly sent a live anthrax sample to the U.S. Forces Korea's Osan Air Base, south of Seoul.

Public concerns did not subside despite the USFK announcement that the sample was destroyed before inflicting any damage.

"(The government and the ruling party) decided to review necessary enhancement and supplement measures after determining whether there is a problem in the management and process of the Status of Forces Agreement," Saenuri Party Rep. Won Yoo-chul said after a policy coordination meeting with Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo. Seoul will discuss any revisions at a joint SOFA committee meeting with the U.S., planned for July, the lawmaker said.

The SOFA governs the legal status of about 28,500 U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea, and requires the U.S. to notify South Korea when a substance that could pose a threat is shipped to the country. But Seoul was not informed of the recent delivery beforehand.

The government also vowed to prop up legal and systemic efforts to control all kinds of potentially dangerous materials that may come into the country, Won said.

The move came as Seoul and Washington have recently opened a discussion channel through their joint committee in charge of SOFA in a bid to find the cause of the accidental shipment and come up with countermeasures. (Yonhap)