It's 13 years since Peter King lost preselection to future prime minister Malcolm Turnbull during an epic and bitterly fought battle in the blue ribbon Liberal seat of Wentworth.

The high-profile 2004 skirmish left him humiliated and out of Parliament. But Mr King appears to be back, embarking on a series of presentations to local Liberal Party branches. The unlikely topic? The threat of a nuclear strike by North Korea.

Peter King is back on the Liberal Party talking circuit, warning about the threat from North Korea and the need for leadership. Credit:Paul Miller

In a softly lit upstairs room in Paddington's Lord Dudley Hotel on Tuesday night last week, Mr King outlined a doomsday scenario reminiscent of the Soviet nuclear panic during the 1950s, perhaps appropriate given the average age of the 30 or so supporters in the room.

Joining Mr King was lawyer Matthew Bransgrove, co-author of what was being touted as a "civil defence plan".