NK jamming signals affecting civilian flights in South Korea

Civilian flights in and out of South Korea have been affected by electronic jamming signals from North Korea over the past five days, the South Korean government said Wednesday.

As jamming signals of the global positioning system, or GPS, have been detected to stem from the North, experts say North Korea has begun its electronic offensive against South Korea.

“From 6:14 a.m. on April 28, aircraft flying in and out of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province have suffered disturbances in their GPS satellite signal,” the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Ministry said in Seoul. “The GPS jamming continued. As of 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, 272 aircraft were affected.” A combined 241 South Korean and 11 foreign aircraft were affected by the jamming, the ministry added.

The aircraft had their signals jammed while flying over the central area of the Korean Peninsula, including Seoul, Osan and Taean, or taking off from or landing at Incheon International Airport or Gimpo International Airport between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. The ministry issued notices about the jamming to airline operators from 9:34 a.m. Wednesday.

According to the airline industry and the state-funded National Radio Research Agency, ordinary aircraft use GPS signals to pinpoint their exact flight locations within their routes. They receive signals of their exact locations as detected by artificial satellites. GPS disturbances could cause flights to get lost in the air and result in major disasters.