Earlier in January, South Korea’s military said that its northern neighbour was jamming GPS signals in the border regions, thus posing significant problems for both flying vehicles and vessels. This was the second day that GPS signals were jammed and the south claimed that several civilian aircrafts as well as vessels were impacted.
The disturbances were said to have originated in or around North Korea’s western frontier, in the Kaesong or Haeju region. The South Korean military made announcement on aircraft and ships the North was disrupting their GPS system, but they did not explain how North Korea was affect the system or the full extent of the failure.
This latest step was made at the time of increasing tensions between the two countries, as Kim Jong Un, the head of North Korea, is developing nuclear and missile capacities and actively practicing psych- warfare. One of them involves sending thousands of balloons into South Korea to shower the country with trash and anti-South Korean rhetoric leaflets.
South Korea has really raised a high level of concern with regards to the effects that North Korea’s actions present to it particularly to the Incheon International Airport thru which millions of people and important cargo transit. The airport is just 62 miles away from North Korea and; worse still it can experience a GPS interference interference. Indeed by 2024 North Korean balloons have already interfered severally with airport operations thus posing a great danger to commercial aviation.
Other recent provocations by North Korea also include destroying part of rail and road network which connects it to the South, and also has been testing missile in a bid to press on two fronts; Seoul and Washington. This is amplifies the hostility bearing in mind that North Korea no longer has any interest in reunification and the paramount interest is to contain South Korea as an enduring foe.
The North’s GPS disruptions and balloon campaigns are operations of hybrid warfare, which South Korea regards as an escalating threat. There are also some questions to the military relations between North Korea and Russia with information showing that Pyongyang has been supplying military equipments to Moscow supporting Ukraine invasion. This could be transferred to the development of advanced Russian technology to North Korea such that Kim Jong Un becomes even more dangerous.
