North Korea is capable of engineering bioweapons for military purposes with gene-editing technology like CRISPR, according to a new U.S. government report, highlighting possible efforts to advance the country’s secretive biowarfare program.

The State Department’s 2024 Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments report released on Monday warns that Pyongyang continues to operate a “dedicated, national level offensive” bioweapons program to help counter U.S. and ROK superiority in other military domains.

Despite being a signatory to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, which prohibits the stockpiling and use of biological weapons, North Korea possesses