South Korea’s New “Blackout Bomb” Can Paralyze The North’s Power Grid
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Oct 9, 2017
US and South Korean officials are nervously watching to see if North Korea follows through with its threats to carry out another nuclear test – or to fire a rumored long-range missile capable of accurately striking the west coast of the US into the Pacific – in celebration of the Oct. 10 anniversary of the Communist Party’s creation. Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that South Korea has developed a new weapon to hobble the North’s infrastructure should an armed conflict erupt on the peninsula. Given that it’s almost daybreak in North Korea, such a test could happen as soon as Monday night, Eastern Time.
The weapon is a graphite bomb – otherwise known as a “blackout bomb” – which South Korean officials say will be capable of shutting down North Korea’s entire power grid. Blackout bombs were first used by the US in Iraq in the 1990 Gulf War and work by releasing a cloud of extremely fine, chemically treated carbon filaments over electrical components. The filaments are so fine that they act like a cloud, but cause short circuits in electrical equipment.
As News.com.au points out, North Korea tends to celebrate the Oct. 10 holiday with military parades and aggressive rhetoric. But this year’s festivities could include new provocative weapons tests.
“The Kim regime usually uses these sorts of occasions to demonstrate some show of strength — in this current climate a missile test is a likely result,” says Dr Genevieve Hohnen, lecturer in politics and international relations at Edith Cowan University.
The Telegraph reports that the South developed the bomb to minimize civilian casualties in the North should a conflict erupt. In a statement to Yonhap, a military official said the South Korean army could assemble a blackout bomb at any time. The weapon was reportedly developed by South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development.
“All technologies for the development of a graphite bomb led by the ADD have been secured. It is in the stage where we can build the bombs anytime,” a military official told Yonhap.
The bomb is often referred to as a “soft bomb” because it only affects targeted electrical power systems.
As the Telegraph explains, the blackout bomb was developed as part of South Korea’s “three pillars” plan for retaliating against the North if it believes a nuclear strike is imminent. Escalating tensions with the North have inspired the South to move its target date for completion forward by three years. The plan was initially slated to be complete by the mid-2020s.
The first two parts of the plan involve detecting – and then intercepting – North Korea missiles. The second part – aptly named the “massive punishment and retaliation plan” involves launching attacks against the country’s leadership, including a plan to assassinate Kim Jong Un.
South Korea is bringing forward the deployment of its “three pillars” of national defence by as much as three years as a result of the growing threat posed by Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development programmes.
The Rest…HERE
