North Korean EMP Attack ‘Existential Threat’ to US, Experts Warn

L: The test fire of a ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea in an undated photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on May 30, 2017. (STR/AFP/Getty Images); R: Effects of an electromagnetic pulse at 248 miles above the Earth's surface. NACLE2/Public Domain;Iantresman/CC BY 2.5

With this year’s revelation that North Korea’s nuke-tipped missiles could likely reach the West Coast of United States, a more insidious threat has gained prominence—an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack.

While not deadly on its own, an EMP attack can ruin most electronics within a massive radius and could cripple the power grid, sending the country back into the 18th century—potentially a death sentence for a large part of the population.