North Korea Developing Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons 191
An anonymous reader writes "The Sydney Morning Herald reports, 'North Korea is using Russian technology to develop electromagnetic pulse weapons aimed at paralyzing military electronic equipment south of the border, according to South Korea's spy agency. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a report to parliament that the North had purchased Russian electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weaponry to develop its own versions. EMP weapons are used to damage electronic equipment. At higher energy levels, an EMP can cause more widespread damage including to aircraft structures and other objects. The spy agency also said the North's leader Kim Jong-Un sees cyber attacks as an all-purpose weapon along with nuclear weapons and missiles, according to legislators briefed by the NIS.'" Let's not forget that North Korea has also achieved nuclear fusion, developed a super drink that can cure aging and disease, and found a "unicorn lair" last year.
Size, range and much hype... (Score:4, Informative)
Real military devices are hardened and ready by design for nuclear related EMP. The Swiss bunkers show planning for such events in the real world at a civilian bunker setting over many, many years.
The other option is a low yield nuclear device with the desired characteristics - again something military devices are hardened and ready by design.
Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_bomb [wikipedia.org] to go after an electrical supply grid.
So the military was always ready.
Re:Size, range and much hype... (Score:5, Informative)
A., one of the trends of the last several decades is much greater use of OTS (Off The Shelf) equipment in the military. That is just buying existing commercial equipment without all of the traditional MILSPEC type hardening that would have been done in the past. That has meant much quicker fielding times, and more current technology, but at the cost of much greater vulnerability to EMP and other associated effects. Some recent prime examples would be the tablet PCs the military is deploying, and various low level tactical communications gear. There are others.
Re:What are you smoking (Score:4, Informative)
Unfortunately EMP is a genuine serious threat, and North Korea poses a potential threat not just to the US, but to Australia, Japan, and other nations as well.
Inside the Ring: North Korean missiles deemed a serious threat to U.S. [washingtontimes.com]
'North Korea's nuclear weapons could hit UK': Alarm at David Cameron's claim [mirror.co.uk]
An EMP Could Cripple the U.S. [heritage.org]
An EMP is a torrent of electromagnetic energy that disrupts and destroys electronic devices within an affected area. As a result of such an event, most electrical devices would fail, most cars would cease functioning, airplanes would fall from the sky, and critical infrastructure—such as water and sewers, banking, energy, transportation, information technology, and others—would shut down.
Importantly, the electrical components and transmission systems would be permanently destroyed, requiring enormous levels of repair and rebuilding. Huge swaths of the U.S. would be without even the most basic of services for years, and it could take decades to fully recover. The economic and human losses would be catastrophic.
EMP Attacks—What the U.S. Must Do Now [heritage.org]
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack represents one of the greatest threats imaginable—to the United States and the world. An EMP occurs when a nuclear device is detonated high in the atmosphere—a phenomenon of which America’s enemies are well aware. The electromagnetic discharge can permanently disable the electrical systems that run nearly all civilian and military infrastructures. A massive EMP attack on the United States would produce almost unimaginable devastation. Communications would collapse, transportation would halt, and electrical power would simply be non-existent. Not even a global humanitarian effort would be enough to keep hundreds of millions of Americans from death by starvation, exposure, or lack of medicine. Nor would the catastrophe stop at U.S. borders. Most of Canada would be devastated, too, as its infrastructure is integrated with the U.S. power grid. Without the American economic engine, the world economy would quickly collapse. Much of the world’s intellectual brain power (half of it is in the United States) would be lost as well. Earth would most likely recede into the “new” Dark Ages.
A single nuke exploded above America could cause a national blackout for months. [acdemocracy.org]
One EMP burst and the world goes dark [usatoday.com]
Re:This should be encouraged (Score:5, Informative)
They weren't meant for use inside cities anyway. They were for fighting mass tank formations while minimizing the destruction to West Germany. Minimizing, not eliminating: they still had large blast and thermal effects.