Introduction of the Republic of Korea–the United States of America's Joint Exercise Against Biothreats in 2013: Able Response 13

The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the the United States of America (USA) has held joint exercises to respond to biothreats in the Korean Peninsula since 2011. The exercise was called Able Response (AR) and it aims to coordinate interministerial procedures inside Korea and international procedures in requesting the medical resources urgently between ROK and USA, and among ROK and the United Nations, and nongovernmental organizations. AR13 was a functional exercise with a scenario that presumed a series of attack by terrorists, dispersing Bacillus anthracis in Seoul. The participants conducted exercises with action cells and using point-to-point communication system. It was followed by Senior Leadership Seminar participated by high-ranking officials in ROK and USA to discuss possible collaboration in advance. AR and its following actions will fortify collaboration between ROK and USA and enhance the capability of countermeasures against biothreats in Korea.