A “Super-Powerful” EMP Attack: North Korea’s Newest Weapon Against The U.S.

by | Sep 4, 2017 | Headline News | 71 comments

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    This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.com

    The dynamics of the standoff between the US and North Korea have shifted dramatically in the past week.

    First, the North started with an unexpectedly sharp provocation – launching a missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido – before following that up with its sixth nuclear test. Also, judging by the size the earthquake detected in the country’s mountainous North on Sunday morning, North Korea may have been telling the truth when it said it conducted what it described as its first hydrogen bomb test.

    And while the North bragged about the weapon’s “great destructive power” in a TV broadcast, what caught analysts’ attention was a mention of a different tactic: detonating  an H-bomb at high altitude to create an electromagnetic pulse that could knock out parts of the US electrical grid.

    Here’s WSJ:

    “North Korea’s threats against the U.S. now include a tactic long discussed by some experts: an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, triggered by a nuclear weapon that would aim to shut down the U.S. electricity grid.

    North Korea’s state news agency made a rare reference to the tactic in a Sunday morning release in which the country said it was able to load a hydrogen bomb onto a long-range missile. The bomb, North Korea said, ‘is a multifunctional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP attack.’”

    Unlike a conventional nuke, an EMP blast – think Oceans’ 11 – is not directly lethal, and serves mostly to knock out key infrastructure (useful when robbing a casino).

    However, it would probably lead to an unknown number of indirect deaths as hospitals and essential infrastructure lose power.

    “The idea of an EMP attack is to detonate a nuclear weapon tens or hundreds of miles above the earth with the aim of knocking out power in much of the U.S. Unlike the U.S. atomic bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, such a weapon wouldn’t directly destroy buildings or kill people. Instead, electromagnetic waves from the nuclear explosion would generate pulses to overwhelm the electric grid and electronic devices in the same way a lightning surge can destroy equipment.”

    In the worst possible scenario, regional power grids could be offline for months, potentially costing many deaths as people would eventually start running out of necessities like food and medicine. Lawmakers and the US military have been aware of the EMP threat for many years, according to WSJ. IN a 2008 report commissioned by Congress, the authors warned that an EMP attack would lead to “widespread and long-lasting disruption and damage to the critical infrastructures that underpin the fabric of US society.”

    In a report published last month, the Hill noted that the North could choose to carry out an EMP attack on Japan or South Korea as a more politically acceptable act of aggression. Such an attack could help the North accomplish its three most-important political goals, the Hill said.

    “North Korea has nuclear-armed missiles and satellites potentially capable of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. EMP is considered by many the most politically acceptable use of a nuclear weapon, because the high-altitude detonation (above 30 kilometers) produces no blast, thermal, or radioactive fallout effects harmful to people.

    EMP itself is harmless to people, destroying only electronics. But by destroying electric grids and other life-sustaining critical infrastructures, the indirect effects of EMP can kill far more people in the long-run than nuclear blasting a city. In this scenario, North Korea makes an EMP attack on Japan and South Korea to achieve its three most important foreign policy goals: reunification with South Korea, revenge upon Japan for World War II, and recognition of North Korea as a world power.”

    Scientists first discovered a hydrogen bomb’s ancillary EMP capabilities after testing one in the Pacific in the early 1960s.

    “When the U.S. tested a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific in 1962, it resulted in lights burning out in Honolulu, nearly 1,000 miles from the test site. Naturally occurring electromagnetic events on the sun can also disrupt power systems.

    A 1989 blackout in Quebec that came days after powerful explosions on the sun expelled a cloud of charged particles that struck earth’s magnetic field.”

    Some experts who spoke with WSJ said it would be impossible to guarantee success during an EMP attack, since the weapon would need to detonate with near perfect accuracy.

    “Skeptics generally acknowledge that an EMP attack would be possible in theory, but they say the danger is exaggerated because it would be difficult for an enemy such as North Korea to calibrate the attack to deliver maximum damage to the U.S. electrical grid. If it a North Korean bomb exploded away from its target location, it might knock out only a few devices or parts of the grid.”

    The North Korea said its hydrogen bomb had explosive power of tens of kilotons to hundreds of kilotons – so of course if it landed to close, or the attack was mishandled in other ways, what was meant to be an EMP attack would result in a nuclear strike. At least one expert said using an EMP attack would make little sense when the North could cause much more destruction with a nuclear ground attack.

    “Others say that even if North Korea had the technical capability to deliver a damaging electromagnetic pulse, it wouldn’t make strategic sense to use it because Pyongyang could wreak more destruction with a traditional nuclear attack directed at a large city.

    A rogue state would prefer a “spectacular and direct ground burst in preference to a unreliable and uncertain EMP strike. A weapon of mass destruction is preferable to a weapon of mass disruption,” wrote physicist Yousaf M. Butt in a 2010 analysis.”

    Luckily, if US military authorities truly fear an attack, there are some long-term steps the US could take to minimize the effectiveness of an electromagnetic pulse attack. Defenses could be bolstered inexpensively by designing electrical-grid components to withstand sudden pulses, just as the grid already is protected against lightning strikes. The US could also build backup systems that could step in for the principal electrical grids in an emergency.

    If the North’s latest nuclear test, conducted early Sunday, didn’t involve a hydrogen bomb, the weapon used was at least close to it according to US officials. It was the North’s first nuclear test since late last year, and also the first since tensions between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump began escalating shortly after his inauguration. China, Japan, South Korea and the US have already condemned the attack, with China and South Korea threatening to work with the Security Council to bring more onerous sanctions against the defiant North.

    Meanwhile, President Donald Trump in a series of tweets hinted that he was frustrated with diplomatic measures, which he referred to as “appeasement.” We imagine there are more than a few generals whispering in his ear about the potential success rate of a surgical strike.

    * * *

    Finally, here is a repost from July 2014, in which hedge fund legend Paul Singer, head of Elliott Management, said that “there is one risk that stands way above the rest in terms of the scope of potential damage adjusted for the likelihood of occurrence” – an electromagnetic pulse (EMP).  Three years he may be proven correct.

    From: “The “Most Significant Danger” According To Elliott’s Paul Singer

    EMP: THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DANGER

    While these pages are typically overflowing with scary or depressing scenarios, there is one risk that stands way above the rest in terms of the scope of potential damage adjusted for the likelihood of occurrence. Even nuclear war is a relatively localized issue, except in its most extreme form. And the threat from asteroids can (possibly) be mitigated.

    The risks associated with electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, represent another story entirely. It can occur naturally, from solar storms that send “coronal mass ejections,” which are massive energetic bursts of solar wind, tens of millions of miles in a mere few hours. Or it can be artificial, produced by a high-altitude (at least 15 miles) explosion of relatively low-yield (even Hiroshima-strength) nuclear weapons.

    Different initiators of EMP have different pulses and different effects. But the bottom line is that EMP fries electronic devices, including parts of electric grids. In 1859, a particularly strong solar disturbance (the “Carrington Event”) caused disruption to the nascent telegraph network. It happened again with similar disruptions in 1921, before our modern power grid came into existence. A NASA study concluded these events have typically occurred around once per century. A repeat of the Carrington Event today would cause a massive disruption to the electric grid, possibly shutting it down entirely for months or longer, with unimaginable consequences.

    Only two years ago, the sun let loose with a Carrington-magnitude burst, but the position of the earth at the time prevented the burst from hitting it. The chances of additional events of such magnitude may be far greater than most people think.

    The artificial version of EMP, a kind of nuclear attack, would require between one and three high-altitude nuclear explosions to create its effect across all of North America. It would not cause any blast or radiation damage, but such an attack would have consequences even more catastrophic than a severe solar storm. It could not only bring down the grid, but also lay down a very intense, very fast pulse across the continent, damaging or destroying electronic switches, devices, computers and transformers across America.

    There is no way to stop a naturally occurring EMP, and nuclear proliferation, combined with advances in weapons delivery systems, make the artificial version a distinct possibility, so the dangers are very real.

    What can be done about this risk? Critical elements of the power grid and essential electronic devices can be hardened. Spare parts can be stockpiled for other, less critical hardware. Procedures can be developed as part of emergency preparedness so that the relevant government agencies and emergency response NGOs are ready to respond quickly and effectively to an episode large or small.

    Why are we writing about EMP? Because in any analysis of societal risk, EMP stands all by itself. Congressional committees are studying this problem, and federal legislation is laboriously working its way through the process. We think that raising people’s consciousness about what should be an effort by both parties to make the country (and the world) safer from this kind of event is a good thing to do.

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      71 Comments

      1. yup, aint i been saying it?

        • In another article, China ‘strongly condemns’ N. Korea’s nuclear test. Yet, China also warns the U.S. NOT to strike North Korea preemptively.

          China is North Korea’s main diplomatic ally and economic supporter, and both countries are Communist ruled.

          Kim Jong Un of North Korea has a GOAL – set off an EMP over the U.S. and take down our grid. I believe he will continue pursuing it. If ONE bomb somehow meets its target, our whole way of life will change. It has been projected that up to 90% of our population would die.

          On the other hand, that would open up millions of acres of good U.S. farmland that other countries would welcome to feed their populations. It would also provide the perfect opportunity to deploy U.N. (Chinese, Russian, etc.) forces to keep order in the U.S.

          Restoring the grid after an EMP would be an enormous task. A great majority of the large transformers in remote areas of the U.S. were delivered years ago by railroad. The railroad tracks in many areas have since been torn up. The logistics to deliver just ONE of these transformers would be huge. It would also take time to have them manufactured and shipped.

          8/12/13 – The American Society of Civil Engineers recently published a review of our national energy infrastructure, which includes oil and gas production/distribution as well as the electric grids. It received a D rating.
          sustained with our current infrastructure.”

          “infrastructure in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard, with many elements approaching the end of their service life. A large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration.”
          http://www.smartgridlibrary.com/2013/08/12/failure-is-not-an-
          “Our world-class economy and modern society cannot be option-unless-were-talking-about-american-energy-infrastructure/

          2/26/17 – How Secure Is Our Smart Grid?
          http://www.govtech.com/blogs/lohrmann-on-cybersecurity/how-secure-is-our-smart-grid.html

        • Been up at the site in greater detail for years now, nothing new at all in this article, from the fake name of Tyler Durden who has never existed ?

          Definitely a real matter and concern, but exactly what was learned here that was not already known ad nauseum ? This actually concerns me more than a nuke and we can thank all of it to Bill Clinton and BHO for their idiocy. And after all is done, we still have Iran to deal with for the same reasons !

          • Hurricane Irma now category 4,

            additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or two.

            Florida governor declares state of emergency.

            Weather.com

            • Hurricane Irma has strengthened and now is cat5.

              Praying those in the path of this are safe.

          • Down to Earth, I saw former head of the CIA Woolsey on CNN this weekend. He says the Obama admin knew about the EMP satellites overhead. He claims they didn’t know what to do about them, so they basically ignored them. Good plan.

        • We may have a EMP…..and maybe it ain’t from NKorea….THIMK, gang…

        • EMP, yes. What about a cyber attack to the nation’s “interconnected” power grid? Almost too easy.

      2. the serial killer Kim Jong needs to slide one of those babies onto a missile and let’r rip.

        • Yet, Obama tried to hide the information and did NOTHING!

          Obama administration KNEW about North Korea’s miniaturized nukes in 2013 – 8/9/17

          “the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has determined North Korea is capable of constructing miniaturized nuclear weapons that could be used as warheads for missiles – possibly ICBMs – left out a crucial fact:

          DIA actually concluded this in 2013. The Post also failed to mention that the Obama administration tried to downplay and discredit this report at the time.”

          “The DIA report represented inconvenient facts that threatened President Obama’s North Korea “strategic patience” policy — a policy to do nothing about North Korea and kick this problem down the road to the next president.

          Obama officials tried to downplay the DIA assessment to prevent it from being used to force the president to employ a more assertive North Korea policy.”
          ht tp://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/08/09/obama-administration-knew-about-north-koreas-miniaturized-nukes.html

      3. well, after Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the good men of the planet should have rounded up every person associated with using a weapon like that against children and hanged them. imho

      4. if he is showing this bomb off, that means he already has one circling in his satelites now thanks to chinese money and help.

        • exactly! pre-positioned! he ain’t stuuupid

        • Gandhi as I understand it our military has some type of weapon that can take out those satellites. If so, why the hell doesn’t Trump order the military to use it?

          • BH I’ve had the same thought

          • Brave, because there are far too many satellites up there now and it would cause tremendous space debris and take out many satellites. It is called space junk and it so very real now. So once again humans have shit in their own nest ! We are dependent on all that crap for smart phones and all manner of military and commercial matters. So in short that is not an option according to all the consumers here in USA today. What would Google do or our MIC and deep state apparatus or Facebook or many others if their systems all went down forever ? America would be fucked but good. Personally I would like to see that happen and nobody be vaporized. Then it would all simply seek its own level the old fashioned way and that is likely our best case scenario. Seems to me we are far to dependent on all of this shit for our own good, so let the thinning out begin without nukes !

      5. Goodness gracious !!

        I’m going back to canning the peaches.

        winter greens are up

        got a batch of baby chicks to hatch any day now

        prep your souls

        • I just pressure canned the last deer ham from last year’s hunt. Looking forward to doing it again soon. A man needs meat and fruit and veggies all.

          • try pickled tree squirel and fasion the squirrel hide into a soft jock strap.

            • Comfy on the crotch.

          • The little extortionist just doesn’t know when to quit. Being warned and condemned by his closest allies, he just keeps pushing. I don’t think Trump wants to bomb N Korea, being that he doesn’t wanna kill people that are deathly afraid of this guy. This isn’t an ideological problem like isis is. I believe if Un is neutralized, the PEOPLE of the north will be happy and maybe lead to a unification of these two countries.
            I live in the north east. I’m watching Irma. My son and I were at Costco yesterday picking up a few things, so I was loading a few cases of water and a couple was standing their so I offered to put some on their cart. I axed the lady how many she wanted and she looked at me all snarky and said just one. I said we got 4 just in case this hurricane comes our way and she said “I’m not even thinking about that” so I said neither were the people in Houston and look how that turned out. But it was the way she talked that concerned me, so condescending like I needed her permission to speak. That nasty crab didn’t even say “thank you”. I love it. I really do. We live at a spot where the rivers and streams won’t reach us but we’re ready for losing power, and we’re especially ready to help others. Our boat is covered and the genny is primed, freezers full etc. That hurricane is still out in the Atlantic and too far away to know where its gonna land but It’s better to have and not need, than to need and not have.
            Stay quiet Be smart

            • Jacknife, it NEVER hurts to keep stacking. Good luck.

            • JackKnife: The damn country is so chuck-full of very nasty, shitty, rude people and I wish they would all drop dead yesterday!! I have no use for such clowns.

          • Possum street pizza or frisbee rabbit.

        • the fat one is out trumping trump with his lies of greatness. make North Korea great again.

        • What do you do to the peaches before canning?
          Pie like filling? Or just plain peaches?

          • yep–that’s it.

            Also–Pickled Peaches. You will love them with anything pork or out of the jar. They have a sweet/sour taste.

            recipe/instructions here: http://pickyourown.org/peachespickled.htm

            if you have peaches that are a bit too ripe you make “peach sauce” and can that. Makes up just like apple sauce. Have made batches of pear sauce also.

          • just plain peaches.

            then i can use them for anything, pies, ice cream, tapioca puddings and such 🙂

            • Cool!
              We have wild peach trees here, got about 12 of them on our place, still have fruit,

            • Grandee, you’re making me hungry and I just had BBQ earlier.

      6. They are trying to suck us into a war. China and Russia seem to be sticking with NK. Hard to believe the US can not take out KJU with a precision strike.

        • Russia and China have Trump walking the tightrope. Pains me to say it.

      7. I’m waiting for the nuke to fail and drop back on NK. Like a Hollywood movie with a close up on the Great Fat One as the bomb topples earthward and flattens his butt as he mouths “oh crap.”

      8. Do we not have the means to do an EMP on NK? After all, it would only harm the ruling elite – the masses have no access nor need for electronics. A low or no yield pulse would do it.

      9. An Emp event would be more logical for Kimmy Fartpants to take over South Korea as he wants to do to become a world nuke power with larger territory. China is still not following sanctions by using their banks to launder NK money, and why Trump wants to shut them down. Kimmy’s confidence comes from Chinese support to back him if he attacks our allies or our territory/country.

        Hold on to your old computers and smart phones, the US may halt any trade with China because Trump said he will suspend our trade from anyone trading/supporting N Korea as a last ditch effort for sanctions to work. China’s trade will be hampered by 30% if we cut them off. But also remember what started the pacific war with Japan, we cut off trade from them for invading China, which started WW2 by bombing Pearl Harbor.

        • Trump is just blowing smoke on the trade. Where else will we get Chinese junk?

          • no chinese trade then:
            no walmart
            no kmart
            no cheap chinese ammo
            no harbor freight
            no target stores
            no i phones
            no computers
            but the ol’ 45 colt will still be available. 250 grains of anti antifa pills

            • Gandhi, my Taurus PT111 9mm with 124-grain pills and 00 buck for my Mossberg 590 will do the job.

            • I know that a large number of U.S Citizens are ready, and that is what ‘Antifa’ and other Left wingers do not like, We know that many of those that show up at this or that rally are hired to show their numbers several times larger than they would otherwise have, BUT rest assured they are doing everything to ID each of us that will most effectively deal with them during their attempt to undermine the U.S.A..
              All I have to say is, a Kabar is more effective due to it not making a sound, nor will it run low on ammo, and the shock of the faces of those that find their members no longer able to help will send FEAR into the rest.!

        • Woog: China is a bunch of sneaky, no good fucking yellow chink mutts.

      10. Doom Porn…

        Fear Porn…

        North Korea…

        The next gubbermint that comes for us, will be the same one that has been coming for us the last 240+ years. Do not be distracted.

        Stay On Point !!!

        EMP my ass, the dude can’t even find a good barber..sheeeesh.

        …Stay frosty, like this here root beer float…..BA.

        • Coca Cola floats are so good, too.

        • I have said it many times, that hindsight being 20/20, we can see the folly in getting involved in WWI, as the end would have put the Whole of Europe in need of the United States, and the power we would have had, would see things more than 180o in the other way, Now we look farther back into History, and England never got over the American Colonies breaking away, and being able to STAY that way, ‘War of 1812’, ‘Mexican American war’, and yes, even during the ‘WWI’, England was stirring the pot in Mexico to weaken the United States so we could be brought back into the fold, and they saw a victory in the formation of the UN, where the U.S.A. was then being told what we could, could not do. I see the UN building as a pile of rubble telling the world that WE the people of the U.S.A. will NOT be RULED,!.

      11. A sociopath with nukes, sanctions will just make him more desperate. Could we shoot down 3 or 4 EMP’s? Time to prep, prep, prep and prep some more.

        • Can we shoot down 3 or 4 EMPs?

          I think it depends if they want to, one train of thought would say that would be the ideal situation to unseat the current administration, with the collapse of the web and coms most people will never know what is going on, so they will have to take the govs word for everything, or nothing,

        • The issue with “taking out” an EMP is that you run the risk of detonation. So let it run its course!

          • Very important point.

      12. Do not forget about IRAN folks.

        • Bam: Those trash nut jobs in Iran should of been wiped off the map in 1979 when those fucks pulled the shit on the US Embassy and the country has been going down hill ever since……

      13. Start shooting down the bastard’s missiles and see what happens.

        • exactly! why is it we’re not doing that??

          cause it would start the WW3??

          i don’t think the U.S. gov wants a war–or we woulda swatted those missiles already.

          WW3– TEOTWAWKI

          prep your souls

        • braveheart… better yet just take out the next missile right as it is launched…and do this with a hydro bomb…then act surprised that the chubby one must have launched an armed missile!!!

        • missiles? lol, the kids already got several satellites up. Just load that baby aboard another and fly it over.

      14. For all those worried about this we can harden our electical system fairly cheaply against EMP effects but Obama chose not to spend the money leaving us open to the threats of the Korean misfortune cookie Why the hell dont we spend the money and end the threat instead of acting like chicken little the shy is falling

        • Congress is so inept and impotent they would NEVER pass the funding. They should all hang actually.

      15. Has anyone explained Karma to Kim?

        • they tried, but he fed them to hungry dogs

      16. For further reading, at space.co

        http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1553/1

        Here, Dr. Butt and Dr. Peter Vincent Pry debate both sides of the argument. Excellent reading if you have an interest in this topic

      17. If there was to be an emp attack on America, it would be caused by the deep state before it would be NK

      18. what wont it effect? our subs that have standing orders and targets if we are hit with such a weapon. unknowing of who launched it a strike upon all potential enemies would be made. we wouldnt use the emp weapon because it would have little effect. a weapon has been tested by Russia. they found it destructive but hard to control a rocket would need to be able to control it exactly and explode it at a set altitude two things that are beyond Korea abilities. unless they purchase a rocket that has the range and computing power yes it may knock America out but we would survive. who wouldnt? the nations that we provide much of their support and protection
        Grampa

      19. Fear porn. All major power transformers built after about 1975 have complete EMP protection built in. All of our major power distribution stations are fully protected as well. EMP is a NON ISSUE! (this is why congress does not “do anything” to solve the “problem.”) It is only fear porn from “internet experts” that have ZERO experience in electrical design. Don’t waste a good crisis!

      20. I have been raised from day one through the Boy Scouts, to ‘BE PREPARED’, and Now is well past time to be ready for ANYTHING,!.
        I am a Veteran, U.S. Navy, and have 20 years as a Vol Fire fighter, EMT, so much of what those who think that the U.S. Govt. will be ready to take care of them, need look to Texas, President Trump is doing more now than ‘OBUMMER’ failed at over the 8 years of inadequacy. And with Irma eyeing the U.S., I say that anyone who wants to make it through anything will have enough to last 6 months minimum, I like one thing that the ‘Mormans’ do, they have ‘2’ years set aside, and most have gone into they Military, so they are trained and ready to defend themselves, their families, and the storage they say is more important than going to see ‘Disneyland’, so keep this in mind, pictures of you having gone ‘there’ will not fill an empty stomach, nor warm a cold wet body when everything has fallen apart, I do not have what I want, but do have more than most, so I can go on 1/2 rations, and let those that are ‘that’ desperate kill each other, it is not a pleasant thought, but it is a reality, get ready your families depend on it!.

      21. I wonder how many of you out there that have seen the ‘RED DAWN’ movies,?.
        I saw the original with the ENY being from South-Central (Cuba)America, the New version has North Korea being the ENY, and with everything that is happening, I wonder how many see the comparisons, and what the end results are ?.
        An EMP would allow NK to do what it shows is the update movie, and that they WILL murder 10’s of 1,000’s as fast as they can, remember this, PRISONERS are too expensive to keep around if they serve no purpose and for most of us, just using AIR is considered a waste, every Vet needs to have some Long, Hard talks with those that do not see the writing on the wall, and make sure they start looking for, and seeing what has been there for 40-50 years, they just were NOT looking, popular programing has been very effective at keeping us from seeing the truth.

      22. Ronna: NEVER waste a good crisis!!!! You got it.

      23. It is real simple: our nuclear strike control facilities are EMP hardened. The country of origin of any EMP strike will be figured out and the apporopriate action will be taken. EMP is not going to happen because of this.

      24. I’ll reiterate what I’ve said before…

        1) There is ZERO evidence that NK has EMP capability regardless of their recent statement. Their recent statement was probably made because everyone in the US is TALKING ABOUT EMP.

        2) NK will not use an EMP on anyone because that will immediately cause a nuclear attack by the US on NK. They aren’t that stupid or crazy. As the article states, a weapon of mass Distruction is better than a weapon of mass Disruption. The only time you use an EMP is as a prelude to a full-scale nuclear attack.

        3) NK will not attack the US. Or Japan. Nor for sixty four years have they attacked SK (except for minor incidents.) They are not going to attack anyone unless they are attacked first.

        4) The threat here is the moron Trump. Not Kim. All Kim wants is to force the US to negotiate and stop threatening his rule. What Trump wants is a total unknown – other than to continue issuing bullcrap statements that are no substitute for acting as a real President.

        By the way, I read today that experts say you need six carefully spaced nukes at the right altitude to affect the entire US electrical grid properly. Only China and Russia have this capability. NOT NK.

        Also, I read today that it is likely that NK does NOT have a full thermonuclear nuke. What they probably have is a regular nuke with addition thermonuclear fuel added. This is how the US developed higher yield nukes in the early days. This is still some distance away from having thermonuclear nukes.

        Which is irrelevant anyway since a higher yield doesn’t help NK strategically. The only thing that would make NK have a credible deterrent would be enough missiles to deliver enough nukes to threaten multiple US cities – much like China does, and of course, Russia. NK doesn’t have that and won’t have it for some time.

        Also, wasting your limited nukes on trying to hit a US city would be idiotic. You use them on your immediate strategic threat, which is the US and SK forces invading your country, the US fleet, and US air bases in the region. Otherwise you lose the war which makes hitting a US city a complete waste of time. Why kill 100,000 US civilians when you can kill scores of thousands of US troops in one blow?

        The real problem: No one pushing this stuff thinks any of it through.

      25. Opinion is a wonderful thing. We have one.

      26. “Super powerful EMP”

        Watch out folks, that red cape on it will make it more terrifying and capable ……Adding adjectives to make the story seem more dire from yet another fear porn author. propaganda and fear porn to et the desired results. What ever will mankind do without all his technological wonder crutches and all his boundless laziness?

        I said before more than once. It would be nice if just one author were right just one time, then any of them would have credibility solely on the subject basis.

      27. Bring it on Little bitch kim, we’re waiting on you.

      28. EMP, yes. What about a cyber attack to the nation’s “interconnected” power grid? Almost too easy.

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