A North Korean GPS jamming operation began Friday and continued Saturday, hitting several ships at sea and dozens of civilian aircraft, South Korea said.

North Korea has launched a Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming attack, the Seoul military said, an ongoing disruption operation that has hit several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft in South Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Saturday warned ships and aircraft operating in the West Sea region, also known as the Yellow Sea, to be careful about interfering with North Korea’s GPS signal.

“North Korea carried out GPS jamming provocations in Haeju and Kaesong yesterday and today (Nov 8-9),” the JCS said in a statement, adding that several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft experienced “some operational disruptions” as a result .

GPS relies on a network of satellites and receivers that enable global positioning and navigation.

The JCS also called on North Korea to immediately stop its interference and warned that the country would be held accountable for its actions.

Between May 29 and June 2, an estimated 500 aircraft and hundreds of ships experienced GPS problems due to North Korean interference, the South Korean government said at the time. Seoul filed a complaint with the United Nations aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which warned North Korea to stop the disruption.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Saturday that the latest GPS “jamming attack” involved a weaker interference signal compared to the widespread interference carried out by North Korea in May and June.

South Korean military operations and equipment were not affected, Yonhap said, citing the JCS.

Tensions between the two Koreas have escalated in recent months due to missile tests by Pyongyang, North Korea’s destruction of transportation infrastructure connecting the North and the South, the recent dumping of waste over South Korea from balloons flying in the North have been launched, and the reported deployment of North Korean missiles. Korean troops will fight for Russia in Ukraine.

Aviation experts say North Korea’s junk balloon campaign, numerous ballistic missile launches and the rise of GPS spoofing — where a signal is sent to ignore a legitimate GPS satellite signal — have increased risks in South Korean airspace. complicating airline operations as tensions between the countries rise. the rival nations.

Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP news agency that the reason for the jamming operation should be analyzed.

“It remains unclear whether the intention is to divert the world’s attention from the troop deployment, to sow psychological uncertainty among residents of the South, or to respond to Friday’s exercises,” Yang said, referring to South Korea’s test firing of a missile.

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

South Korea fired a Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile into the West Sea on Friday. The military said this would demonstrate Seoul’s “strong determination to respond forcefully” to any North Korean threats.

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