North Korea’s GPS Jamming Attack Impacts Hundreds Of Ships & Aircraft In South Korea

North Korea has carried out a Global Positioning System Jamming Attack which has led to operational disruptions for many ships and civilian aircraft in South Korea, in the West Sea region or the Yellow Sea, per Seoul’s military.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) even warned ships and aircraft to be wary of this signal jamming attack in Haeju and Kaesong on November 8 and 9.

GPS depends on a network of satellites and receivers which enables global positioning and navigation.

JCS called on North Korea to stop this interference and gave it a warning that it will be held responsible for its actions.

This is not the first time that North Korea has done something like this. From May 29 to June 2, 2024, hundreds of ships had GPS issues as a result of North Korea’s tactics and interference with the signals which disrupted smooth operations.

Seoul had complained to the UN Aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization which told North Korea to stop the attack immediately.

South Korean Yonhap News Agency has reported that this time though, it is a weaker signal compared with the one in May and June. South Korea’s military equipment and operations are not impacted, per JCS.

The conflict between North and South Korea has risen in the last few months amidst missile tests by Pyongyang, the dumping of garbage over South Korea from balloons launched by North Korea, North Korea destroying transport infrastructure linking both Koreas and the North’s decision to send its troops to fight on the Russian side in Ukraine.

This GPS spoofing, wherein a signal is sent to override a legitimate GPS signal increases risks in the South Korean airspace. GPS jamming attacks can cause serious accidents and loss of lives in the airspace and at sea.

As a response, South Korea fired a surface-to-surface short-range missile into the West Sea to show its resolve to respond to North Korean threats.

References: The Guardian, Al-Jazeera

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