Asymmetric Weapon: North Korea's Hydrogen EMP Bomb Has Already Cost Us Many 100s of Millions of Dollars

 

It is a Pearl Harbor Attack.

Dollar hits 10-month lows below ¥108 in Torokyo

The dollar dived below ¥108 for the first time in about 10 months in Tokyo trading on Friday, as a risk-averse mood grew amid heightened worries about the possibility of North Korea firing a ballistic missile, or conducting other provocations, on Saturday, the anniversary of the reclusive nation’s founding.

At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥107.73-74, down from ¥108.99-109.00 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.2048-1.2049, up from $1.1954-1.1954, and at ¥129.81-82, down from ¥130.30-30.

The dollar was weak around ¥108.30 in early trading in the wake of an overnight tumble of the key U.S. long-term interest rate on concerns over Hurricane Irma’s possible devastation on the U.S. economy and the European Central Bank’s downward revision in its inflation forecasts on Thursday.

Threat of North Korean EMP attack leaves Japan vulnerable

Pyongyang claims ability to trigger high-altitude electromagnetic pulse

by Reiji Yoshida

Staff Writer

The North Korean nuclear crisis has fueled global concern over how much time is left before Pyongyang masters the technology required to miniaturize nuclear warheads and make the re-entry vehicles needed to deliver them on target.

But a Sept. 3 announcement by the reclusive state raised fears of another kind of attack that completely bypasses those hurdles: an electromagnetic pulse.

In Sunday’s announcement, Pyongyang claimed to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb and said it had the ability to detonate one at high altitude to generate an EMP — an electromagnetic wave that would fry electronic devices and disrupt communications for hundreds of kilometers around.

A nuclear device detonated 30 km to 400 km above ground could disrupt nearly all types of electronics within range, including computers, power grids and communication systems, experts say. Recovery could take years.

“The electromagnetic pulse generated by a high-altitude nuclear explosion is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences,” concluded a 2008 report by a U.S. commission tasked with assessing such threats for Congress, the president and other key government bodies.