N. Korea Disrupts GPS Signals in S. Korea
In recent years, North Korea has caused disruptions in Global Positioning System-based electronic gadgets in South Korea by sending electronic signals across the border. They were intermittent and no major damages had been reported in the South.
Then, last month, the North launched its most intensive GPS jamming attack on the South, causing the South Korean authorities to raise its alert level.
Since last month, several South Korean areas located near the inter-Korean borders on land or in the water have reported minor glitches of devices using the satellite-based navigation system.
Some South Korean fishing vessels in the regions had to return to their home ports due to the disturbing signals.
In response, Seoul’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning raised its alert level against such disruption signals by one notch in its four-tier warning system.
Previously, GPS disruptions had occurred three times since 2010 and they all appeared to have originated in the North.
Officials said the interference in the latest incident is coming from the area near Mount Geumgang and the city of Haeju in North Korea.
The Unification Ministry called on the North to immediately halt the activity, calling it a provocation.
On Tuesday, the North stopped its disruptions of GPS signals, but the South Korean government said it will maintain the GPS jamming alert at the current level for the time being.
About one-thousand airplanes, 715 ships and one-thousand-794 cell towers have been affected by the latest disruptions, though no significant damage was reported.
To effectively deal with similar jamming attacks from the North in the future, the South Korean military is considering replacing the commercial GPS satellites with the military ones that are not vulnerable to the jamming interruptions from the North. It plans to deploy five military satellites by 2022.
Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) also said Thursday that it plans to purchase U.S. military’s high-performance GPS anti-jam systems for guided missiles.