The news Sunday morning that North Korea had launched what appeared to be its sixth nuclear test and most powerful one to date is troubling enough.

But a statement from the rogue regime took things to a whole new level. The North said it had tested an H-bomb that was “a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals.”

This is the first time it has publicly mentioned its interest and ability in an EMP attack, a devastating weapon that could have catastrophic consequences for North America, the West and their closer neighbours.

An EMP attack, as I detail in my new book Pulse Attack, is a nuclear detonation that occurs in the atmosphere and creates a waveform that can take down the electrical grid below.

In the worst case scenario, this wouldn’t just shut off the power for minutes or hours, but weeks or even months, due to serious damage to transformer stations and other integral elements of our power infrastructure.

This wouldn’t just mean we couldn’t turn on our laptops and televisions; it would shut down our telecommunications, transportation, water systems, our ability to get food to cities and much more.

Conventional wisdom tells us that North Korea would be incredibly reticent to live up to its threats of launching a missile strike, nuclear or otherwise, on South Korea, Guam, Japan or elsewhere because the retaliation from the United States would be immediate and ferocious, effectively destroying the country and killing all of its leadership.

However, if Kim Jong Un’s first strike is a successful EMP attack against North America, this would largely shut down the ability of the U.S. to respond. While some elements of U.S. military infrastructure have been hardened for resilience against an EMP strike, there is no standardization across the board. Plus, civilian infrastructure is hardly protected, if at all. The United States and Canada would be in the dark and sitting ducks.

A handful of national security experts and legislators in the U.S. have attempted to sound the alarm about this troubling vulnerability but have largely been unsuccessful in getting regulations in place. The utilities industry claims it’s not its problem, but that of the military’s, something experts firmly dispute.

Meanwhile in Canada, the government is even less prepared for an EMP attack. My research and access to information requests revealed a near total ignorance of the subject. Although, now-retired senator Daniel Lang put pressure on the government in 2016 to give attention to the subject.

In the past, experts warned that North Korea was likely aware of EMPs. Sunday’s announcement has completely changed that calculus and, thus, changed the game. We now know for sure that it's aware of it and include it in their strategic plans.

Will it actually launch one? How bad will it be? We don’t know the answer to these questions. It's beyond our control. But what is within our control is how we protect ourselves against it. Right now, our grid is woefully exposed. It doesn’t need to be. And the urgency to finally do something has just greatly increased.

Furey’s book Pulse Attack: The Real Story Behind The Secret Weapon That Can Destroy North America can be found at Amazon.ca.