North Korea just might win a war, if it begins with EMP blasts | Hacker News Reader

North Korea just might win a war, if it begins with EMP blasts

thehill.com

19 pointsmalloryerik14 comments

I looked at the wiki page for KMS-4 and it seems the only person who is suggesting it might be an EMP weapon is himself. In this article he makes it sound like it's a definitive, known fact. In the wikipedia page it's more like he's warning about the potential for such weapons.

"One Second After" is a story of a town struggling after EMP attack on the U.S. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after

The article conveniently ignores that the two Koreas have totally unmatched conventional military power. If war breaks out (and may it never), South Korea can steamroller through entire North Korea all the way up to the Chinese border, without any outside help. (Assuming China does not intervene.) Their powers are so unmatched, one or two nukes thrown into the mix will make little difference. (If anything, it will only make South Korean soldiers cry for vengeance.) North Korea still has tanks and planes built in the age of the Vietnamese War, for Christ's sake.

Any kind of nuclear attack on South Korea, let alone US, is basically assisted suicide for Pyongyang.

I agree.

There are some 'suicide (assisted) by cops'. And than there are 'suicide (assisted) by USA'.

I should point out though that Kim of N Korea isn't suicidal. He's not crazy. He's not dumb. He's very rational and clever in his own evil ways.

Kim know only way for him to survive is acting as he is now, threatening and bullying until he gets more aid.

Is this satire?

No, it's propaganda.

I'm not sure it is.

http://securethegrid.com/2014/04/03/video-65/

He's been on this topic for some time. But cynicism is entirely understandable.

https://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Peter-Vincent-Pry/e/B00IUMVT0A

I believe it is. Here's the picture he paints:

1. North Korea attacks other nations

2. Hero-Entrance 'MURICA

3. North Korea goes "OMG we didn't think this would happen"

4. NK falls apart and deploys secret kamikaze-style weapon to cause serious shit in the US

With the final assumption that everybody will be OK with this, and NK emerges as victors.

It just drives the picture that NK would be a serious thread to the US, and attempts to justify destroying other state's property ("shoot down those North Korean satellites") for "defense".

You might watch his technical assessment of threats. There was enough there I paused for a few moments, even if he is mostly selling books and trying to keep a commission seat.

I tend to agree there isn't an excuse not to harden some of our infrastructure against this type of attack.

I agree that hardening infrastructure against attacks (not just EMPs) is important. But that is only one of two requests made in the article. The other one is about shooting down a satellite owned & operated by another nation, an unprecedented request that - if executed - could be seen as an act of war. (Imagine if NK destroys a US satellite...)

Their satellite would be taken out first when any shooting starts. I don't think the Pentagon would wait.

Yes, I can see that happening. But the article does not state the precondition of war to shoot down the satellite - it asks to do it now, possibly starting the war.

Would an emp blast damage solar arrays?

It'd at the very least damage the inverters.

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