North Korean Threat Sparks Rush To Build Bomb Shelters

The rising tensions generated by North Korea’s missile tests have convinced people around the world that it’s time to restock the bunker. Among the new generation of preppers is Australian businessman Nathan Stewart.

“If North Korea gets the ability to launch a long-range nuclear warhead, we have a place to go, which is why we are rebuilding it,” Stewart told The Australian. “We are going to restore the shelter to its former glory so it is fully operational.”

Stewart is bringing back a bunker on his estate in Australia’s Adelaide Hills. The shelter — the size of a house — features a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms and enough space for 14 people. It was built in the 1970s by the estate’s former owner, deceased businessman Kim Bonython.

North Korea Threatens Australia, Too

Stewart is afraid that Australia’s historic alliance with the United States will lead to a conflict with North Korea. Recent statements are fueling his anxiety.

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“If Australia persists in following the U.S. moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK [North Korea], and remains a shock brigade of the U.S. master, this will be a suicidal act of coming within the range of the nuclear strike of the strategic force of the DPRK,” the North Korean government said earlier this year.

Stewart seems to have little faith in the ability of Australia’s government to protect him from North Korean missiles.

“We are redoing the bunker structure with the latest technology to make sure it is sound and all sealed properly,” Stewart said. “We will ensure it is fully supplied and stocked with years of water and non-perishable goods.”

Stewart is far from alone. U.S. bomb shelter makers have reported a 700 percent increase in sales, The Australian reported. Sales of bomb shelters are also skyrocketing in Japan.

A Japanese shelter builder called Earth Shift is reporting a tenfold increase in sales, Reuters reported.

“It takes time and money to build a shelter,” Nobuko Oribe, the managing director of another shelter company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, said. “But all we hear these days, in this tense atmosphere, is that they want one now. They ask us to come right away and give them an estimate.”

Another Japanese builder, Shelter Co., is showing off a one-room bunker designed to withstand a blast of a “Hiroshima class nuclear bomb,” Business Insider reported. The shelter features steel doors and many of the comforts of home, including upholstered chairs and carpeting.

It looks like bomb shelters are all the rage again thanks to Kim Jong-un.

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