US Electric Grid Could Be Vulnerable To North Korea Attack

As tensions with North Korea quickly escalate — with the rogue nation refusing to back down from its nuclear testing and threats of such an onslaught- questions now surround the ability of the United States power grid to withstand an electromagnetic pulse attack.

As one U.S. official put it, an EMP event would have extremely dire consequences for the entire country, but where the challenge comes is in attempting to quantify those impacts. The U.S. electrical grid, which is deemed one of the most vital pieces of infrastructure in the country and serves more than 300 million, does not have one singular oversight body responsible for its safeguarding — hence authorities have cautioned that the magnitude of threat has fallen between the cracks.