Pseudo-rules
 

Thanks, Olefin! I'd forgotten all about V1260. "Red Plague" begins on p.31.

I didn't include rules for the virus per se, but provided descriptions of the symptoms and an incubation timeline. Nearly 100% of those exposed to the virus, which is transmitted through bodily fluids, become infected. All infected develop the symptoms described. There is no vaccine or antidote (although retrieving materials which could lead to the development of one is one related adventure hook).

My sourcebook is rules-lite (except for vehicle and weapon stats, based on Paul M.'s amazing work- used with permission, of course), however, based on the given infection rate, I'd just roll a d100 and add the PC's CON score to the result. Any total over 95 means the PC did not become infected. Anything under, they did.

The virus escaped from a damaged lab bunker (see North Korean Tunnel Systems starting on p.38), so I didn't include anything on delivery methods (the KPA was still working on that when the war began). v1260 was basically my device for giving ref's the option of including a zombie ("Ragers") scenario in a Korea-based campaign. Said zombies are of the fast variety, a la 28 Days Later.

More broadly speaking, in A Brief History of The Second Korean War, I included the following:

"During its long retreat, the KPA implemented a merciless and ultimately self-destructive scorched earth policy, laying waste to anything considered to be of value to the encroaching Allies. Come winter, the consequences of this self-immolation would prove devastation for North Korea's long-suffering civilian population. Adding to the devastation, the panicked DPRK regime, desperate to halt the rapid Allied advance, reauthorized the use of chemical weapons, and ordered the deployment of biological weapons. Soon, weaponized anthrax and smallpox were adding to the skyrocketing death toll. Most Allied troops were adequately immunized against such contagions, but the civilian population of both Koreas was decimated by the unnatural pandemics that ensued." (KPSB p. 5).

It is assumed that these BW pandemics have run their course by 2000- the population density of the DPRK was so thinned out that the spread of BW epidemcis essentially stopped- although PCs might still encounter pockets of contagion in North Korean territory (or in refugee camps near the pre-war DMZ).

Note Anthrax is NASTY stuff. It sticks around in the soil for 40+ years regularly reinfecting livestock and the people around them - There's areas of Zimbabwe which are still infected from the 1970's.

My mental reference for anthrax is Gruinard Island because it's one of the few places that's been as thoroughly decontaminated as possible. Gruinard Island was considered too contaminated for human visitation from 1942 to 1990, and it was only deemed safe after four years of decontamination efforts (1986-1990). Decontamination involved burning as much of the vegetation on the island as possible, the removal of the most contaminated topsoil, and the spraying of 280 tonnes of formaldehyde diluted in 2000 tonnes of sea water over the approximately 200 hectares of the island (50 liters of solution per square meter). All of that left an "acceptable" maximum of 3 spores per gram of soil.

I was unaware of its very persistent nature. Thanks. Fortunately, this information is in keeping with the KPSB's introductory paragraph to the section on North Korea in 2000:

"To say that North Korea is a wasteland might creep into the realm of hyperbole, but there is no question that the country has suffered greatly as a result of the Twilight War- perhaps more so than any other major combatant. The contrast between the DPRK and its southern counterpart is stark."

At the time, I was thinking that the DPRK was one of the only countries to experience the entire alphabet of horrors from NBC warfare, including the only large-scale use of BW.

The attraction of bioweapons is they're just so damn CHEAP! It only costs a few thousand dollars and you can potentially kill hundreds, if not thousands of people. As previously mentioned though, the downside is they're somewhat uncontrollable and can spread further than intended (although in some cases that's exactly what the attacker wanted anyway). Persistence is another major factor (such as the anthrax issue) and can be EXTREMELY difficult and expensive to clean up.
Part of the Anthrax problem in Zimbabwe is the climactic conditions there are almost perfect - usually warm if not hot, wet periods followed by long dry periods. Korea may in this case be somewhat blessed by having a very different climate rather more hostile to the disease's long term survival.

Without elaboration. there are biowarfare agents for any climate. Including Antarctica.

...and for any budget too my research is showing. Scary, scary stuff. The fabric of pure nightmares.
Consider the Sarin attack in Tokyo in 1995 bu a cult which had only existed for a decade. Twelve dead and according to better sources than wikipedia, up to around 5,000 injured.
The same group had already carried out a number of biological attacks (which had all had less than impressive results for a variety of reasons) and several very advanced laboratories which were the envy of most government organisations!

Just found an interesting report on North Korea's Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs. I've only skimmed it so far, but looks like a lot of good info in there especially for you Raellus and anyone else thinking of running something in the region.
https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/102273...s_programs.pdf