South Korean military accuses North Korea of ​​GPS signal ‘jamming attack’ | Aviation News

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North Korea’s GPS operation began on Friday and continued on Saturday, disrupting several ships at sea and dozens of civilian aircraft, South Korea said.

North Korea has planned an attack on the Global Positioning System (GPS), Seoul’s military said, an ongoing jamming operation that has disrupted 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, also known as the Yellow Sea, to be aware of North Korea’s GPS signal jamming.

“North Korea conducted GPS activities in Haeju and Kaesong yesterday and today [November 8-9]”JCS said in a statement, adding that several ships and a number of civil aircraft are experiencing “some operational disruptions” as a result.

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

The JCS also called on North Korea to immediately stop its interference and warned that it will be held accountable for its actions.

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

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

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

Tensions between the two Koreas have escalated in recent months amid missile tests by Pyongyang, the destruction of North Korea’s transportation infrastructure connecting the north and south, the dumping of debris by the South on balloons launched by the North, and the North’s reported deployment. Korean soldiers will fight against Russia in Ukraine.

Aviation experts say North Korea’s junk balloon campaign, multiple missile launches and the emergence of GPS “spoofing” – where a signal is transmitted to bypass the official GPS satellite signal – have increased the risk to South Korea’s airspace, complicating air operations as tensions between . rival nations.

Yang Moo-jin, the president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP news agency that the reason for doing this work must be analyzed.

“It is not clear whether there is an intention to divert the world’s attention from the military deployment, to instill psychological insecurity in the South’s residents, or to respond to Friday’s tests,” Yang said, referring to South Korea’s missile test.

“However, GPS jamming attacks pose a real risk of serious incidents, including possible plane crashes in the worst case scenario,” he said.

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

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