South Korea's military said North Korea disrupted GPS signals from border areas for the second straight day on Saturday, affecting an unspecified number of flights and vessel operations. Tensions between the nations have escalated as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his advancing nuclear and missile program and engages in electronic and psychological warfare, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash and anti-South Korean propaganda leaflets in the South, the AP reports.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korean operations to manipulate GPS signals were detected from around the western border city of Kaesong and the nearby city of Haeju on Friday and Saturday, and that the activities disrupted dozens of civilian aircraft and several vessels. While warning aircraft and vessels near western border areas, South Korea's military did not specify how North Korea was interfering with GPS signals. "We urge North Korea to stop GPS interference provocations immediately and strongly warn that it will be held fully accountable for any resulting consequences," the joint chiefs said in a statement.
North Korea's GPS signal disruptions and balloon campaigns highlight the vulnerability of South Korea's Incheon International Airport, its main transportation gateway, analyst Sukjoon Yoon recently wrote on the North Korea-focused site 38 North. The airport, which carries 56 million people and 3.6 million tons of cargo annually, is about 60 miles from North Korea. "No major aviation incidents have resulted to date, but GPS interference can endanger commercial airlines flying in poor visibility, and it is a violation of international conventions on navigational safety," Yoon wrote. He said that in 2024, North Korean trash balloons halted the airport's runway operations 12 times for a total of 265 minutes. South Korea released an assessment of the interference in September.
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