North Korea blocks GPS signals, disrupting flights and ships in the south

North Korea carried out GPS jamming attacks on Friday and Saturday, an operation that hit several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft in South Korea, Seoul’s military said.

The jamming allegations come about a week after the North test fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel ICBM missile, the first such launch since it was accused of sending soldiers to help Russia in the fight against Ukraine.

The South fired its own ballistic missile into the sea on Friday in a show of force aimed at demonstrating its determination to respond to “any North Korean provocation.”

“North Korea conducted GPS jamming provocations in Haeju and Kaesong yesterday and today,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Saturday, adding that several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft experienced “some operational disruptions.”

The military warned ships and aircraft operating in the Yellow Sea to be wary of such attacks.

“We strongly urge North Korea to immediately stop its GPS provocations and warn that the country will be held responsible for any subsequent problems that result,” they said in the statement.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a series of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions.

The South has also been bombing with waste balloons since May, in retaliation for anti-Pyongyang propaganda missions sent to the North by activists.

The South Korean military said Pyongyang also tried to jam GPS signals in May, but added at the time that it did not interfere with any military operations in the South.

During Friday’s exercise, South Korea fired a Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile into the West Sea, which the military said would demonstrate Seoul’s “strong determination to respond strongly” to any North Korean threats.

The Hyunmoo missiles are key to the country’s so-called “Kill Chain” preemptive strike system, which allows Seoul to launch an attack if there are signs of an impending North Korean attack.

Experts say such jamming attacks could lead to other incidents that could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

“It remains unclear whether the intention is to distract the world’s attention from the troop deployment, to sow psychological uncertainty among residents of the South, or to respond to Friday’s exercises,” said Yang Moo-jin , president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. told AFP.

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

Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP that North Korea’s interference could include “protecting their own communications and intelligence sharing during critical military operations’, both at home and abroad.

North Korea has become one of the most vocal and important supporters of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

Seoul and the West have long accused Pyongyang of supplying artillery shells and rockets to Moscow for use in Ukraine.

The latest accusations, based on intelligence reports, indicate that the North has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia, signaling an even deeper involvement in the conflict and sparking outrage in Seoul, Kiev and Western capitals.

Seoul, a security ally of Washington, said last month that the presence of North Korean troops in Europe would mark a major escalation.

South Korea, a major arms exporter, has long had a policy of not supplying weapons to countries in conflict.

But President Yoon Suk Yeol said this week that Seoul is not now ruling out the possibility of supplying weapons directly to Ukraine, given Pyongyang’s military support for Moscow.

On Friday, Seoul’s presidential office said cyber attacks by pro-Russian hacking groups against South Korea have increased following North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia’s war in Ukraine.