The nominee for a senior post at the Pentagon said on Thursday that it is critical that the joint forces of the U.S. and South Korea have the protection to counter threats from weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons. 

Deborah Rosenblum, nominee for assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, made the remark in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Rosenblum said it is critical that the joint forces have the protection that they need in order to be able to counter any kind of threat from weapons of mass destruction including biological.

The nominee was answering Senator Mark Kelly, who said that the U.S. Government Accountability Office pointed out the need to improve the readiness of U.S. troops to fight against chemical and biological weapons in its report last month.

Kelly, a member of the Senate committee, mentioned that the Pentagon produced hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines for plague and botulism in 2020, but ended the vaccine acquisition program due to the cutoff of the related budget.   

Rosenblum agreed to report back to the committee on the future and cost of developing vaccines against biological weapons.