Kim eyes anthrax rocket

NORTH KOREA is testing whether its missiles capable of hitting the U.S. are also capable of carrying the deadly bacteria anthrax, according to a report.

The Kim Jong Un regime is looking into whether it can prevent the biological weapon from dying out in the extreme heat an intercontinental ballistic missile endures when it goes through the Earth’s atmosphere, Japan’s Asahi newspaper reported Wednesday.

The report, based on an account from a confidential source in South Korea, said that it didn’t have confirmation about whether the tests had been successful.

North Korea has been developing its missile program for decades, and a test last month let the world know that it has the U.S. East Coast within range of its latest Hwasong model.

It has also tested nuclear weapons several times, most recently in September, with what it says was a hydrogen bomb.

Though the Kim regime has answered threats from President Trump about “fire and fury” with the trumpeting of its own nuclear weapons, the U.S. and allies have also been worried about other nonatomic weapons.

Meanwhile, a low-ranking North Korean soldier defected across the heavily militarized border between North and South Korea at around 8:04 a.m Thursday local time, a South Korean defense ministry official said.