Bomb that could wipe out the US: Expert's warning that terrifying super-electromagnetic pulse launched by North Korea from space would kill 90% of the population

  • US sustains 320m population because of technology, Peter Vincent Pry says
  • High frequency EMP attack could cause damage to a wide range of electronics
  • EMP warhead does not need to be precise to cause vast damage, Pry warns 
  • Food in grocery stores would be eaten with three days in the worst-case scenario
  • Food in warehouses would rot due to lack of electric, he says 

By Tom Leonard for the Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

An attack on US electronics by North Korea could kill 90 per cent of the population by crippling the nation’s infrastructure, an expert has claimed.

A spine-chilling report said Washington is underestimating the threat of an ‘electromagnetic pulse’ (EMP), a phenomenon that could be caused by detonating a nuclear bomb high above the Earth.

Such an attack would see the release of a burst of energy that would interfere with and destroy all electronics – and North Korea has claimed it has built a warhead for this very purpose. 

An EMP could destroy electronic devices over a large area of the United States 

An EMP could destroy electronic devices over a large area of the United States 

WHAT IS A NUCLEAR EMP?

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a short burst of electromagnetic radiation, which can be natural or man-made. 

Nuclear blasts generate high-intensity radio waves that can disrupt electronics.

These EMP blasts travel along line-of-sight, which means the effects extend only to the visual horizon.

A powerful enough blast at an altitude of 249 miles could impact most of the continental US. 

The higher the bomb is detonated, the wider the EMP's range of effect. 

A bomb detonated 19 miles above the center of the country would affect all of Kansas and Nebraska, almost all of South Dakota, and substantial chunks of surrounding states. 

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Despite deep scepticisim from scientists and security experts, nuclear strategist Peter Pry, who previously worked for the CIA, outlined his theories in testimony to Congress. And in an interview with Forbes magazine, he expanded on his vision of how America would fare in such an attack.

He said: ‘The US can sustain a population of 320million people only because of modern technology. An EMP that blacks out the electric grid for a year would [destroy] the critical infrastructure necessary to support such a large population.’

Airliners – of which there are 5,000 flying over the US at any one time, carrying 500,000 passengers – would crash as their electrical systems were destroyed, killing most on board, he said. 

North Korea could wipe out 90 per cent of the US population if it launched a EMP attack

North Korea could wipe out 90 per cent of the US population if it launched a EMP attack

 

Meanwhile, the systems that regulate gas flow through pipelines would spark, causing huge fires in cities and forests.

To make matters worse, he said, nuclear power plants will melt down within a week, causing radioactive particles to spread across the nation. Food supplies in supermarkets would be consumed within days. Without power, the national food supply would start to spoil around a month later.

A single warhead delivered by a North Korean satellite could shut down the entire electric grid and other critical infrastructure for more than a year.

In that time, Mr Pry contends up to 90 per cent of the US population could perish from starvation, disease and societal collapse.

Pyongyang has recently claimed to have developed an EMP weapon, though experts have suggested that North Korea’s limited experience with missiles means it is unlikely to be able to carry out such an attack.

And critics have said that to cause such havoc, North Korea would have to detonate a very large bomb in a very specific position. They also say tests have shown EMP causes significantly less havoc than Mr Pry claims.

Mr Pry is chief of staff of a congressional committee set up to assess the threat of EMP. However, the committee lost its funding last month. Scientists and security experts argue that the claims by Mr Pry and others are far-fetched.

Power grids could be brought down if an EMP attack is launched
Food supplies in grocery stores would be consumed within three days and a 30-day national food supply in warehouses would begin to turn

If the power grid was to be take down, food supplies in grocery stores would be consumed within three days and a 30-day national food supply in warehouses would begin to turn, Peter Vincent Pry said

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