Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

During his visit to the Armed Forces Medical Research Institute and the Agency for Defense Development, Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo checked on the current status of reacting to nonconventional security threats

On March 25, Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo visited the Armed Forces Medical Research Institute (AFMRI) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), which are located in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, to check the current defense posture against nonconventional security threats.

During his visit to the AFMRI, Jeong praised the hard work of the officials who stayed constantly dedicated to their assigned duties, including an epidemiologic survey on infectious diseases, inspections on the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and research and development of a military medical system.

“I am so proud of the fact that you have developed an infectious disease diagnosis technique, which can dramatically shorten the COVID-19 test time, through your constant research, and have transferred this technique to the private sector,” Jeong said, asking them to continue to do their best in the area of medical assistance and research in order to protect the lives and health of soldiers and the public from nonconventional threats including infectious diseases.

The infectious disease diagnosis technique developed by the AFMRI is a kit that promptly determines whether or not a person is infected with the COVID-19 virus by applying a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique. The AFMRI has been working to secure LAMP-based technology by conducting research on malaria and adenovirus since 2017. Following the discovery of Korea's first confirmed case of COVID-19 on January 20, the AFMRI set out to develop a test kit using the technique, and confirmed that COVID-19 can be detected by targeting the N gene. The AFMRI then applied for a patent and completed transfer of the technology to the private sector.

After moving to the ADD and being briefed on the results of research related to the fight against COVID-19, Jeong encouraged the officials who had been engaged in the development of a "dry decontamination system" in the field of the national defense research and development.

A dry decontamination system is a system used to decontaminate the inner parts of platforms, such as electronics, communication and optical equipment, vehicles, and airplanes, which are contaminated by a chemical and/or biological agent, by spraying oxidative gas (hydrogen peroxide steam). This can prevent the corrosion and/or moisture damage that can occur to a platform when a wet decontamination system is used. The ADD developed two prototypes, spending a budget of about 3.5 billion won between December 2013 and November 2016.

The ADD recently completed the demonstration of the system at the Korean Armed Forces Capital Hospital and the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital.“The ADD has been faithful in serving as the "sturdy cornerstone of national defense," developing Korea's high-tech weapons and core technologies for the past 50 years. I ask you to pursue your research in an even more challenging and creative way, to develop defense science and technology that can help the nation fight off a variety of nonmilitary threats, including infectious diseases like COVID-19, as well as military threats like North Korea's missile provocations,” Jeong stressed, ordering the officials to make the dry decontamination system prototypes useful for the treatment of COVID-19 patients by promptly sending them to the negative pressure rooms of the Armed Forces Medical Command.

By Byeong-No, Yun <trylover@dema.mil.kr>
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