South Korea’s military said North Korea blocked GPS signals from the border area for a second day on Saturday, affecting an unspecified number of flights and ship operations. Tensions between the rival Koreas have risen as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his advanced nuclear and missile programs and engages in electronic and psychological warfare, including dropping thousands of balloons and sending anti-South Korean propaganda leaflets to the South.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea had detected manipulation of GPS signals from the western border city of Kaesong and the nearby city of Hyeju on Friday and Saturday, and that the activity had disrupted dozens of civilian aircraft and several ships.
While warning aircraft and ships near the western border areas, South Korea’s military did not detail how North Korea was interfering with GPS signals or the extent of the disruptions.
“We urge North Korea to immediately stop GPS interference provocations and strongly warn that it will be held fully accountable for any consequences,” the South’s joint chiefs said in a statement.
North Korea’s GPS signal jams and balloon campaigns highlight the vulnerability of South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, its main transportation gateway, analyst Sukjun Yoon wrote recently on the North Korea-focused 38 North website.
The airport, which handles 56 million people and 3.6 million tons of cargo annually, is less than 100 kilometers (62 mi) from North Korea.
“There have been no major aviation incidents to date, but GPS interference can endanger commercial airlines flying in poor visibility, and is a violation of international conventions on navigational safety,” Yun wrote. He said that in 2024, North Korean trash balloons blocked airport runway operations 12 different times for a total of 265 minutes.
Kim has shown more hostility this year to Seoul’s conservative government, which has maintained a hard line on Pyongyang by rewriting its constitution to cement South Korea as a permanent rival, abandoning a long-standing goal of reconciliation with the North’s war-torn rival.
North Korea also blew up parts of its disused road and rail lines with the South in October in a symbolic display of anger toward Seoul, and in November opened with a flight-test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile to ratchet up pressure on Washington.
South Korean officials have said North Korean activities to jam GPS signals from western border areas have increased since the country began launching garbage balloons into the South in late May, which the North described as retaliation against South Korean civilian activists flying anti-North Korean propaganda. Leaflets across borders.
In addition to North Korea’s weapons displays and non-conventional provocations, there is growing concern that Russia is providing military equipment and troops to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. South Korean officials have said that deepening military alignment between Moscow and Pyongyang could result in Russian technology transfers that could increase the threat posed by Kim’s military nuclear program. (AP) SCY SCY