EMP / NK

It's pretty scary to Google around "North Korea" and "EMP," not to mention "nuclear weapons." A suborbital EMP burst over America's grain belt would make for a hungry winter, for a lot of countries, and although the people who did it would not be very popular afterwards, that fact may not loom large to them.

It might be simplistic to generalize about national behavior by observing individual behavior – especially loony individuals. But what if the nation is led by a loony megalomaniac with few checks on his behavior?

There's no question that North Korea is testing electromagnetic weapons. I suppose the actual question is "Is this in pursuit of actual development of EMP weapons, or is it a feint, just for negotiating position?" Or a combination of the two, most likely. Once they have the technical chops to use the stuff, they can put it away temporarily, to pass inspection criteria.

We live in interesting times.

Joe