Asia Pacific

Chinese near North Korean border told how to survive a nuclear attack


The official state-run newspaper in northeastern China’s city of Jilin, near the border with North Korea, on Wednesday published a page of “common-sense” advice on how readers can protect themselves from a nuclear attack or explosion.

China has voiced grave concern over North Korea’s nuclear and missiles program, as well as calling on the United States and South Korea to stop provoking Pyongyang.

U.S. bombers were to fly over the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday as part of a large-scale joint military drills with South Korea. The North has warned that the drills would push the Korean Peninsula to the “brink of war.”

The full-page article in the Jilin Daily, which does not mention possible attacks by North Korea or any other country, explains how nuclear weapons differ from traditional arms and instructs people how to protect themselves in the event of an attack.

Nuclear weapons have five means of causing destruction, the article explained: light radiation, blast waves, early stage nuclear radiation, nuclear electromagnetic pulses and radioactive pollution. It said the first four kill instantly.

People who find themselves outside during a nuclear attack should try to lie in a ditch, cover exposed skin in light-colored clothing or dive into a river or lake to try to minimize the possibility of instantaneous death, it said.

Cartoon illustrations of ways to dispel radioactive contamination were also provided, such as using water to wash off shoes and using cotton buds to clean ears, as well as a picture of a vomiting child to show how medical help can be sought to speed the expulsion of radiation through stomach pumping and induced urination.

The paper also provided historical context, saying that when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, light radiation and the blast wave caused fires and storm winds that destroyed 81 percent of the buildings in the city, killing over 70,000 people.

North Korea last week tested what it called its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, which could reach all of the United States.


China has rejected military intervention and called for an end to the war of words between Washington and Pyongyang.

Beijing fears an outbreak of conflict or a chaotic collapse of the North Korean regime, which might see fighting or waves of refugees cross the border into China.