South Korean banks are drawing up plans to protect critical electronic data from a potential electromagnetic pulse attack by North Korea.

The South's banks and other infrastructure, including nuclear power stations and government ministries, have been the target of successful North Korean hacking attacks in the past and there are growing concerns that the nation's financial institutions could be crippled by an EMP weapon, either in the form of a nuclear blast or a conventional electromagnetic pulse device.

Banks are looking into establishing data centres overseas, The Korea Herald reported, or the construction of reinforced repositories designed to withstand the blast of an EMP weapon. Electronic equipment exposed to an electromagnetic pulse can experience damaging current and voltage surges, while data stored electronically can be corrupted.