South Korea’s military blames North Korea on GPS signal ‘jamming attack’

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North Korean GPS jamming operation began on Friday and continued on Saturday, impacting several vessels at sea and dozens of civilian aircraft, South Korea said.

North Korea has staged a Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming attack, Seoul’s military has said, an ongoing disruption operation that has impacted several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft in South Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Saturday warned ships and aircraft operating in the West Sea area, also known as the Yellow Sea, to be cautious of North Korea’s GPS signal jamming.

“North Korea conducted GPS jamming provocations in Haeju and Kaesong yesterday and today [November 8-9],” the JCS said in a statement, adding that several vessels and dozens of civilian aircraft were experiencing “some operational disruptions” as a result.

GPS relies on a network of satellites and receivers that allows for global positioning and navigation.

The JCS also called on North Korea to immediately halt the interference and warned it would be held accountable for its actions.

Between May 29 and June 2, an estimated 500 planes and hundreds of ships experienced GPS problems due to North Korean interference, South Korea’s government said at the time. Seoul complained to the UN aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which warned North Korea to stop the jamming.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Saturday that the latest GPS “jamming attack” involved a weaker interference signal compared with the widespread interference North Korea perpetrated in May and June.

South Korean military operations and equipment have not been affected, Yonhap said, citing the JCS.

Tension between the two Koreas has escalated in recent months amid missile tests by Pyongyang, North Korea’s destruction of transport infrastructure connecting the north with the south, the recent dumping of rubbish over the south from balloons launched in the north, and the reported deployment of North Korean troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

Aviation experts said North Korea’s rubbish balloon campaign, numerous ballistic missile launches and the emergence of GPS “spoofing” – where a signal is transmitted to override a legitimate GPS satellite signal – have increased risks in South Korean airspace, complicating airline operations as tensions rise between the rival nations.

Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told the AFP news agency that the reason for the jamming operation needs to be analysed.

“It remains unclear whether there is an intention to divert the world’s attention from troop deployments, instil psychological insecurity among residents in the South, or respond to Friday’s drills,” Yang said, referring to South Korea’s test firing of a missile.

“However, GPS jamming attacks pose a real risk of serious incidents, including potential aircraft accidents in the worst-case scenario,” he said.

South Korea fired a Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile into the West Sea on Friday, which the military said was to show Seoul’s “strong resolve to firmly respond” to any North Korean threats.

Hyunmoo missiles are key to the country’s so-called ‘Kill Chain’ preemptive strike capacity, which would allow Seoul to launch an attack if there are signs of an imminent North Korean attack.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies