Spectre of N. Korean atmospheric nuclear test prompts emergency plans in Seoul & Tokyo

rt.com

South Korean banks and utility companies are drawing up plans to construct shielding and potentially move operations overseas to protect against North Korea as further provocation from Pyongyang is expected on October 10.

South Korean banks and vital infrastructure facilities, including nuclear power plants and government ministries, have reportedly been hacked by Pyongyang in the past. And as tensions in the region escalate, many now fear the North Korean regime will conduct an atmospheric nuclear test to coincide with the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea on October 10.

The South Korean government warned Thursday that its northern neighbor was "highly likely" to continue military provocations in the build up to the October celebrations.

"Current regulations prohibit the transfer of client information overseas, so we are discussing ways to revise those rules so we can set up data back-up centres abroad," a Financial Supervisory Commission official said as cited by Chosun.

“I understand it is an important anniversary for North Korea. We would like to maintain a sense of urgency,” Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera said Friday as cited by The Japan Times.

A nuclear blast or a specifically designed electromagnetic pulse device can create current and voltage surges in electronic devices while corrupting digitally stored data, posing a huge risk to financial institutions based in the South...

“We are talking about putting a live nuclear warhead on a missile that has been tested only a handful of times. It is truly terrifying if something goes wrong,” Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said as cited by the AP.