WHO and US Urge Russia to Share Information Amid Suspicion Over 'Biological Weapon'

[Anchor]

International concern is growing over the death of a researcher at a Russian plague research institute from pneumonia. As suspicions grow over the possibility of a plague infection, the World Health Organization and the United States have urged Russia to transparently disclose information.

Reporter Gwak Sang-eun has the details.

[Reporter]

The plague research institute in Irkutsk, Russia, where a researcher died from severe pneumonia on October 2, just three days after hospitalization.

Although the Russian government stated that neither a plague infection nor a pathogen leak has been confirmed, questions remain unresolved.

There are rumors that Russia's Federal Security Service, rather than health authorities, was involved in transferring the deceased researcher to the hospital, alongside unconfirmed reports from local media outlets that a second death has occurred.

[Stéphane Dujarric / UN Spokesperson: I understand that the World Health Organization has indicated the risk is low. (That seems to be an announcement made before reports of a second death came out.) The World Health Organization remains in contact with the Russian authorities.]

Suspicion has also been raised that the institute is linked to Russia's development of military biological weapons.

[Ashish Jha / Former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator: This institute has a long history of conducting research on military biological weapons, and Russia has made massive investments in expanding its biological weapons program. This is why there are concerns that something more is going on.]

Consequently, arguments are being raised that it is necessary to investigate whether efforts were made to artificially alter the characteristics of the pathogen, such as increasing its infectivity or drug resistance.

As suspicions mount, WHO Director-General Tedros stated that the WHO has requested additional information from Russia regarding the cause of the severe pneumonia suffered by the deceased and whether additional pneumonia patients have emerged.

The United States has also repeatedly urged Russia to transparently share information, and President Trump stated that he will have a phone call with Russian President Putin.

[Donald Trump / US President: (A phone call with President Putin) is scheduled. We will be speaking very shortly. (How are the intelligence agencies viewing this?) It is currently under deep discussion, and we will probably be able to tell you about it around tomorrow.]

As uncertainty continues surrounding the mysterious death at the Russian plague research institute, anxiety persists in the international community, which has suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Video by Jeong Seong-hun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.