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Artists protest a germ warfare unit at the Pier 8 US military base at the Port of Busan on Aug. 12. (Kim Yeong-dong, Busan correspondent)

Busan artists are calling for the withdrawal of a germ warfare unit at the Pier 8 US military base at the Port of Busan, in the city’s Nam (Southern) District. The unit is accused of testing biological and chemical weapons.

Thirty-two local artists from 23 collectives, including Heung: Rising Action in Arts and Culture, held a press conference in front of the US consulate in the Busanjin District on Aug. 12. “The US needs to shut down facilities linked to germ warfare units at all military installations around the country, including the Pier 8 base in the Port of Busan,” the artists said.

“The US military’s tests of biological weapons threaten the peace of this present generation and generations to come. They could lead to a larger plan to set up germ warfare units aimed at waging war. This is no more than a secretive act of terrible violence aimed at achieving American interests,” the groups said.

“The National Assembly needs to respond by setting up a special committee to prevent USFK [US Forces Korea] from bringing lethal toxins such as anthrax into the country and to ban germ warfare units. The government also needs to carry out a detailed investigation of USFK’s germ warfare response plans and to release its findings.”

“As artists and cultural figures, we will work with the general public to take steps to prevent the deployment of germ warfare units whose purpose is war,” said Yun Seok-hyeon, chief of public relations for Heung.

In 2016, USFK launched the JUPITR initiative at the Pier 8 base in the port of Busan. This project is still underway, though the name has been changed to CENTAUR. During a briefing at the Pier 8 base in December 2019, USFK said that CENTAUR is a fully verified early warning defense system against chemical and biological threats.

South Korean civic groups opposed to the initiative accuse the US of deploying germ warfare units and testing chemical and biological weapons, and demand that those units be removed.

By Kim Yeong-dong, Busan correspondent

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