South Korea denounces GPS signal jamming campaign led by North Korea

The South Korean army said on Saturday, November 9, that North Korea had been carrying out a GPS signal jamming campaign since Friday that had affected several boats and dozens of civilian planes in South Korea.

The military urged caution for South Korean civilian boats and planes traveling on and above the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean Peninsula.

“We strongly urge North Korea to immediately cease its GPS provocations and warn that it will be held responsible for any resulting problems”the Seoul Joint Chiefs of Staff continued in a statement.

GPS jamming consists of emitting unknown signals which saturate GPS receivers and render them unusable for navigation. South Korea has accused North Korea numerous times in recent years of practicing this type of nuisance.

Missile test firings from both sides

Since May, Pyongyang has also sent thousands of balloons carrying garbage to South Korea. Some disrupted traffic at Incheon International Airport, located northwest of Seoul, about 40 kilometers from North Korea.

These announcements come a few days after a test firing by Pyongyang of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) presented by the regime as the most advanced in its arsenal. The launch, days before the US presidential election on Tuesday, represented North Korea's first weapons test since it was accused of sending troops to Russia to support its war effort in Ukraine.

South Korea responded Friday by firing a ballistic missile into the sea with the aim of showing its “strong determination” to respond to “any North Korean provocation”.