Despite missile failure, North Korean threat real

During the weekend, North Korea signalled to the world that they may be in possession of missiles capable of striking the United States and, in turn, Canada.

There is no downplaying the seriousness of the current situation. Two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were on show Saturday during a military parade for the anniversary of the birth 105 years ago of the rogue state’s founder, Kim Il Sung.

Although by the time Monday rolled around, the news cycle had turned to focus on what happened the day after the parade, when North Korea attempted to launch a missile.

“North Korea missile test fails after militaristic parade,” was the headline one news site placed above their Reuters story detailing the failed launch.

Don’t let that word “failed” make you think the issue is any less urgent. Sure, a successful launch would have been even more troubling news. But for all of North Korea’s failures and for all of their theatrical rhetoric, when they move two steps back it’s only after moving three steps forward. They are without doubt making progress on becoming a nuclear state that can seriously harm the West.

The ICBMs are a problem because they are exactly what they sound like — missiles that can travel across continents. While different ICBMs have different ranges, most of the models on the market can travel from North Korea to major cities including Washington, D.C., New York City, Ottawa and Toronto.

Due to the scarcity of credible information coming out of the hermit kingdom, it’s unknown what actually was in those ICBM canisters on parade. Maybe they have the missiles. Maybe they don’t. But based on the severity of the issue, we need to include the worst-case scenario in our threat assessments.

The second big issue is their nuclear capabilities. The ICBM may be able to make it over, but it won’t cause harm if it’s not loaded with a weapon.

North Korea’s nuclear program has increased the frequency of launches and the size of kiloton yields under Kim Jong Un’s leadership. Seismic readings from the most recent tests last year indicate they are experimenting with explosions about the same size as those detonated on Japan during the Second World War.

While the various failed launches tell us that North Korea’s weapons are far from stable, the regime may not wait until they feel they’ve perfected their approach to perform an actual launch against a live target. After all, the United States only conducted the Trinity test — the first ever nuclear detonation — two weeks before dropping the bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.

The other alarming scenario is that North Korea may be planning to launch an electromagnetic pulse over the United States. This is an atmospheric detonation that creates a waveform that destroys most electrical components within its line of sight. If it’s launched high enough in the sky, it can take down the U.S. electricity grid, which in turn shuts off the clean water supply, transportation networks, regional food terminals, and more. Due to how integrated our systems are, this would disable the Canadian grid too.

I write about this issue in depth in my forthcoming book, Pulse Attack: The Real Story Behind The Secret Weapon That Can Destroy North America.

The implications of a nuclearcapable North Korea is an existential threat not just to our neighbours in the south, but to Canada as well. The issue has to be front of mind for our political leadership.