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Page added on July 6, 2017
A North Korean EMP Attack: The Dark Possibility
As the tension between North Korea and the US continues to grow, the possibility of war is rapidly evolving into a probability. Now some military experts worry that an attack via EMP (electromagnetic pulse) on the US mainland might be a feasible option for Pyongyang.
The signs are certainly there: Having recently completed the ninth missile test of 2017, Kim Jong-un promised to send the US an even bigger “gift package.”
Adding to Kim Jong-un’s antics and inflammatory rhetoric, the recent death of American college student Otto Warmbier after his 17-month imprisonment in North Korea has certainly fanned the flames of antagonism between the US and the rogue regime.
Han Tae Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, firmly rejected the accusation of misconduct and declared North Korea operates “according to our national laws and according to international standards.”
To add insult to injury, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also denies any wrongdoing or torture of Otto Warmbier—even going as far as to say North Korea is the “biggest victim” in this situation.
EMP: Is This The Real Threat?
Most analysts believe North Korea is not yet capable of a direct missile strike on the US mainland, but Kim Jong-un’s dogged determination to make this a reality is quite disconcerting.
Some experts believe that the more realistic threat at this point in time is an EMP attack. To make that happen, all North Korea has to do is launch a low-yield nuclear missile from a submarine, ship, or even by balloon and explode it at high altitude, above the atmosphere.
The potential result: a blackout of the Eastern grid that supplies 75% of power to the United States.
If an EMP attack did take place, it would be beyond anything we have seen before. The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack, which was established by Congress in 2001, estimates that within 12 months following a nationwide blackout, “up to 90% of the US population could perish from starvation, disease, and societal breakdown.”
Electronic Armageddon
In practical terms, a catastrophic blackout would be worst in cities, because it would instantly deprive the population of access to drinking water, refrigeration, heat, air conditioning, and telecommunication. Food stores would be looted within a matter of days, and gas stations would cease to function without electricity.
Without Internet access and power, all commerce and advanced methods of communication would stop. There would be no TV, radio, phones. Credit card transactions and cash withdrawals at banks would be impossible. Paper money would become worthless, and Bitcoin would cease to exist, along with the stock market.
Newt Gingrich, speaking at the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources earlier this month, said an EMP attack “would send us back to the 18th century.”
But that’s not the only problem. If no outside help arrives, within days, chaos begins to reign. Civilization is a rather thin veneer that humans have acquired over centuries, a mask covering our hard-wired survival instincts. Once the mask slips, it could mean the end of the world as we know it.
We Are Ill-Prepared For An EMP Attack
US politicians and major utilities have kicked the can down the road when it comes to EMP preparation. Edison Electric estimates that shielding transformers for the US grid system could cost $20 billion.
Granted, American power companies have been studying ways to protect our electronic grids against attack, but tangible results are slow in coming.
The only current option after an EMP attack would be to replace damaged or destroyed transformers. However, says Scott Aaronson, managing director for Cyber and Infrastructure Security at Edison Electric, replacements for those transformers must be procured from foreign suppliers, which could take up to 18 months.
Peter Vincent Pry, leader of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, believes North Korea is closer to launching an EMP attack than many analysts believe. He wants Congress to work harder and cut the red tape to allow the innovation necessary to mitigate the threat.
In Pry’s opinion, an EMP attack would ultimately kill more Americans than a direct nuclear blast could. His book, The Long Sunday, describes several plausible EMP attack scenarios.
Pry thinks that “the first nation to use nuclear weapons today—even a rogue state like North Korea or Iran—will immediately become the most feared and credible nuclear power in the world, a formidable force to be reckoned with, and perhaps the dominant actor in a new world order.”
Is there a sensible way to prepare for an EMP attack?
Maybe not, but stocking some food, water, fuel, and batteries for emergencies is always a good idea—as well as owning a stash of gold coins as hard assets.
While “you can’t eat gold,” as some preppers say, it is the only kind of money that has prevailed over the millennia.
24 Comments on "A North Korean EMP Attack: The Dark Possibility"
Anonymouse on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 6:51 am
Looks like North Korea has come to the pentagon\deep snakes rescue, and just in the nick of time to. With the USlamic state on the ropes in Syria, NK presents a much more credible ‘threat’ in a way the ISISraeli’s never could.
Davy on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 6:57 am
There is always this talk of EMPs but the reality is deeper than fantasies of EMPs. A war on the Korean peninsula will disrupt globalism so profoundly that it is likely the global system as we know it will be over. This will throw Asia into a destructive decline that will surely be complicated by its extreme overpopulation. There is little good that will happen for the US or Europe because without a functioning global economy these two places will be stopped in their tracks.
If one understands this situation it is truly frightening. The global leadership is without answers and when there are no answers there is war. China holds the cards for bringing down NK economically but it is unclear what their calculations are. A decision to destroy a neighbor economically is very difficult considering the results. NK failure will put millions of people on the move for both South Korea and China. It is likely as NK dissolves economically it will strike out militarily. This economic disruption will be more than the region and the world can take because we are already economically in trouble globally. Such a shock will tip the balance.
A conventional war of attrition is a horrible prospect for South Korea. It will likely leave it destroyed as bad as North Korea. Then there is the prospect of NUK hitting Japan. Nukes may hit the US. The option of a US NUK first strike destroying North Korea might tip the world in to WWIII. It is likely only a NUK first strike by the US that completely eliminates the Norths military and weapons potential is the only option for the US. The alternative is a hugely destructive short conventional war with a destroyed world economy. It should be understood that a conventional war will likely escalate to NUK quickly because it is almost certain NK will use or lose their NUKs. This make a US NUK first strike a possibility.
This is a very dangerous situation the world is just dismissing and discounting again because we have been habituated to a status quo with NK as elsewhere. If we look the other way it will go away. This will likely destroy the status quo and it is unclear if modernism will recover from this. Forget EMPs not because they will not happen but because the real issue is war as-is where is.
Makati1 on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 7:13 am
North Korea is going to end all electronic production in Asia if the U$ is stupid enough to start something there. China is NOT going to let the U$ move into N.K.. Nor are the Russians. Japan is a likely target as well as S.Korea. N.K. has very little to lose.
An EMP is a possibility. N.K. has at least two satellites orbiting over the U$ and no one knows what they carry. An EMP bomb is not large or difficult to make. Likely other countries also have them already up there, at least, Russia and China.
This is why I say the U$ is insane. Proof positive if they actually do something. If they don’t it is the end of their credibility. Either way, the U$ loses. We shall see.
“There are approximately 3,000 satellites operating in Earth orbit, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),”
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-the-earth.htm
How many carry EMP causing bombs? No one knows. Even the PS has a satellite out there. lol
Hubert on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 7:39 am
Only one provoking this nut is American Military Industry.
JuanP on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 8:01 am
I think North Korea should be left alone. I don’t give a fuck what happens in Korea. The USA should bring the troops home and close all military bases abroad. What the fuck is the USA doing in Korea, Japan, etc.? The only reason we are in danger is because the US government has been screwing the Koreans for decades!
Sissyfuss on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 9:22 am
Let me posit this scenario. NK is China’s pitbull and while China is rapidly converting its society to a consumer one it will no longer need the customer base of the US. If missile boy does his deed China can plead innocence. Without Chinas support, NK wouldn’t survive a month but support has been increasing of late. China is neither a friend or an ally to the US. It is an aspiring superpower that plays for keeps.
onlooker on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 9:42 am
Well said Sissy. And it highlights that others can play the ruthless game besides the US
Kenz300 on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 9:49 am
Distributed wind and solar grids with battery back up may be in our future. They can be isolated from the grid at large if necessary.
shortonoil on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 1:17 pm
Are any of these claims true? They are coming from the MSM aren’t they? After 10 years of Iraq’s WMDs you would think that the public would be getting a little suspicious. Then again, maybe they have cried wolfe too many times!
MASTERMIND on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 6:20 pm
They know Americans are not very scared of NK. Scary to think what they may pull off to get us to fall back in line….
Anonymouse on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 6:32 pm
The USlamic state(formerly ‘Al-Queda’) brand was never meant as more than a stop-gap amerikan marketing campaign, for permanent war that is. At least until someone capable of generating the kind of sustained threat to freedom-fries and demockracy stepped up to the plate to take over. Has North Korea un-wittingly volunteered itself as the newest ‘big bad’ that the uS has to save the world from? While the uSraeli empire hasnt given up goading and provoking Russia and China at every opportunity by any stretch, NK, is a resource poor, and relativity weak opponent they feel they can use to distract the amerikan sheeple from pressing problems of corruption and malfeasance in the ‘homeland’.
shortonoil on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 6:41 pm
If NK nuked the US in 14 minutes if would look like a lunar landscape with a soft after glow. It would be completely, total annihilated to the point that even moss wouldn’t be living there for the next 500 years. The Trident submarine force is not affected by an EMP attack. Unless they are a nation of suicidal maniacs this is all Fat Boy BS to impress the NK sheep, and the MIC is pumping it up to keep the American sheep in line. Make sure to keep paying your taxes; we need more war machine! Fortunately, he is doing this for his own purposes, otherwise the MIC would have to pay him!
ALCIADA-MOLE on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 6:47 pm
this paultard thinks NK is a stepping stone to siberia
Makati1 on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 7:19 pm
short, N.K. does not have to nuke the U$ to cripple it. Just nuke the sources of the U$ I-toys, Japan and South Korea. End of the game.
If you corners a bear, even a small one, you can expect a fight. And there is no guarantee that it’s momma and poppa are not nearby. (Russia and China) ready to defend junior.
Northwest Resident on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 8:29 pm
Threat of war is highly profitable for MSM. And it serves the dual purpose of cowering the populace under the state’s protective wing, providing justification for the state’s military budget and keeping the flow of $$$ going to the MIC. All according to plan. It is an age-old trick. The MSM and the various chest-beating nations are playing off each other, providing drama and circus to the befuddled masses. Pure entertainment meant to distract attention from the dire issues that really threaten humanity. Little Kim or whatever the fuck his name is has never had it so good — he’s in the global spotlight, he is Somebody. I don’t worry about nuclear exchanges and I don’t believe the nukes will ever be used. And I take great solace in knowing that there isn’t enough oil/diesel to fight another major war. Dire and imminent physical threats are in our future, but not from NK, rather from more local sources.
Makati1 on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 9:16 pm
NWR, I agree. Chaos and strife at home is the near future for the West. DEBT. immigration, DEBT, crumbling infrastructure, DEBT, social division, DEBT, etc.
The headlines point out the problems in bold type, but NOT on U$ controlled M$M. There it is BAU, ALWAYS in some country far from home. Sleep on kiddies, your rude awakening is fast approaching.
Apneaman on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 10:25 pm
North Korea is evil – the TV dun told me so.
EXCLUSIVE: Documents expose how Hollywood promotes war on behalf of the Pentagon, CIA and NSA
US military intelligence agencies have influenced over 1,800 movies and TV shows
“We have recently acquired 4,000 new pages of documents from the Pentagon and CIA through the Freedom of Information Act. For us, these documents were the final nail in the coffin.
These documents for the first time demonstrate that the US government has worked behind the scenes on over 800 major movies and more than 1,000 TV titles.”
“”Alongside the massive scale of these operations, our new book National Security Cinema details how US government involvement also includes script rewrites on some of the biggest and most popular films, including James Bond, the Transformers franchise, and movies from the Marvel and DC cinematic universes.
A similar influence is exerted over military-supported TV, which ranges from Hawaii Five-O to America’s Got Talent, Oprah and Jay Leno to Cupcake Wars, along with numerous documentaries by PBS, the History Channel and the BBC.
https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/exclusive-documents-expose-direct-us-military-intelligence-influence-on-1-800-movies-and-tv-shows-36433107c307
BTW, super hero movies are for pussies and little boys.
Makati1 on Thu, 6th Jul 2017 11:08 pm
Ap, I agree. I noticed the blatant censorship long ago. Then I thought back to my earlier years and remember that it started long ago. No wonder it is almost impossible for Americans, and most wannabees, to ever get free of the chains. If not for the internet, it would be impossible, but you have to stop playing video games, watching porn, or reading about the latest Kardashian caper to see it. Most never will. Too bad. The chains are getting heavier and the slave collar getting tighter.
Download aadhar card on Fri, 7th Jul 2017 3:39 am
I’d like to find out more? I’d want to find out some additional information.
dooma on Fri, 7th Jul 2017 5:11 am
“EMP: Is This The Real Threat?
Most analysts believe North Korea is not yet capable of a direct missile strike on the US mainland, but Kim Jong-un’s dogged determination to make this a reality is quite disconcerting.
Some experts believe that the more realistic threat at this point in time is an EMP attack. To make that happen, all North Korea has to do is launch a low-yield nuclear missile from a submarine, ship, or even by balloon and explode it at high altitude, above the atmosphere.
The potential result: a blackout of the Eastern grid that supplies 75% of power to the United States.”
TOTAL ABSOLUTE PROPAGANDA. BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOUR HONEST GOVERNMENT.
First we dangle the idea that, although totally impossible, NK determination to send one make it a good argument to nuke them now.
Then we guess the different methods at which an EMP could be launched, including..wait for it..a BALLOON! lol. In this day and age of modern radar anf surveillance they seriously consider some sort of high altitude balloon as a threat? Are these people for real? One thing for certain is NK certainly fits the bill for an attack by the world’s largest military. After all, they like picking on tin-pot countries. And getting their asses kicked. Like Vietnam. With mission still unaccomplished in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Makati1 on Fri, 7th Jul 2017 7:00 am
Meanwhile in China: “So the question that I have for you to ponder today is this: is China able to create a self-reinforcing mechanism whereby they export excess capacity, deflate a domestic credit buildup, build an infrastructure for future export and trade all the while having many of the participants beholden (via debt) to China allowing for unsurpassed geopolitical power… and be able to do so because, in large part, the rest of the world has their own problems to wrestle with?”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-06/how-china-increasing-global-power
“The Chinese are many things but stupid is not one of them.”
Davy on Fri, 7th Jul 2017 7:11 am
makati, China is a Ponzi economy no different than the US and Europe. Your reference is a question not a statement. It is not reality like you want to believe it is. If one looks at “problems to wrestle with” China has one see it is in the worst possible position of revolving bubbles and bad debt.
“Chinese Insurer Warns Of “Mass Defaults, Social Unrest” Due To “Mass Redemption” Run”
http://tinyurl.com/ld9rr6o
Barry Heisler on Fri, 7th Jul 2017 8:49 am
I think we should emp north Korea eliminates the threat
Makati1 on Sat, 8th Jul 2017 12:13 am
Far more likely:
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/secret-fema-report-warns-of-major-solar-storms-significant-power-grid-collapses-may-occur-could-require-4-to-10-years-to-fully-restore_07072017
Place your bets…