A false biochemical terrorism alarm was raised Sunday after a foreigner was spotted sprinkling white powder on Seoul’s Mount Daemosan. However, the powder was found to be flour, which the foreigner was using to marking the path for a cross-country run. 

According to the Suseo police, a middle-aged Korean man reported the case around midday, saying, “A foreigner sprinkled white powder on trees and rocks at the mountain peak and ran down. The powder looks like anthrax I saw on TV.”

The man had a convincing ring of fear in his voice and the police immediately scrambled to the scene.

However, it later turned out the foreigner and his group had been participating in a mountain running activity and the lead group was using flour to mark their path.

The lead runner is said to have apologized for causing misunderstandings.

The police said, “(the man) sprinkled the powder with bare hands, which is impossible if it had really been anthrax.”

Anthrax is a lethal disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which is often used to produce biochemical weapons. In 2001, letters containing anthrax were mailed to U.S. news media and Senate offices, resulting in five casualties.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)