The secretive state is no stranger to issuing threats over its apparent nuclear arsenal, with dictator Kim Jong-un boasting that his country conducted its first successful hydrogen bombtest just last month.

But now a think tank has warned that the Asian country could launch an attack on the high voltage transmission lines that comprimise the US power lattice – with the possibility of shutting down major electronic systems and plunging civilisation into darkness.

The possibility of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, where a nuclear device is programmed to produce an electromagnetic wave with such force to destroy electronic systems, has plagued mankind since the Cold War, according to the Center for Security Policy.

However fresh fears have emerged that North Korea could be the one to launch such an attack following its hydrogen bomb claim and its firing of a rocket just days ago. Read Full Report