South Korea's financial authorities have been reviewing countermeasures against the threat of an electromagnetic pulse attack by North Korea that could paralyze a nation's financial system, according to officials Monday.

EMP bombs can jam and damage high-tech defense systems and wreck havoc on communications networks and electrical grids. With tension escalating over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions, North Korean watchers here have said the increasingly isolated country has the capability to use such devices to devastating effect. 

On Sept. 15, President Moon Jae-in ordered preparedness against new types of threats from North Korea, including EMP weapons and biological threats.

An official at the Financial Services Commission said the FSC has been in discussions with representatives from banks and other financial institutions to cope with the danger of North Korean EMP weapons.

One of the potential countermeasures is to build facilities with an EMP shield that can store information on financial transactions, the official said on condition of anonymity.

A law bans South Korean banks and other financial institutions from moving their customer information to a foreign country. So, it is impossible for them to build data centers overseas to avoid losses from an EMP attack, according to the official. (Yonhap)