By Jun Ji-hye
The government has warned North Korea immediately to stop using radio signals to disrupt the Global Positioning System (GPS).
The presidential office and the Ministry of National Defense said Friday that attempts to jam GPS signals are clear provocations, raising tensions between the two Koreas. The disruptions could cause mobile phones to malfunction or affect planes and ships that rely on GPS for navigation.
“The GPS jamming is a clear provocation that violates the ceasefire agreement and the regulations of the International Telecommunication Union,” the ministry said in a warning statement. “If the North continues GPS jamming despite warnings from South Korea, we will make the North pay a due price through cooperation with the international community.”
Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council presided over by chief of the National Security Office Kim Kwan-jin, urging the North to stop its actions threatening the safety of the people.
Defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a regular briefing that the North’s GPS disruption is apparently aimed at showing off the regime’s radio-jamming capabilities, adding the repressive state is expected to continue disrupting GPS signals in the South for a while. He added that there have been no reported problems yet.
The comments came after the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) issued a warning for Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces late Thursday, as Pyongyang discharged a large amount of radio waves to jam GPS signals in the region. The MSIP said the isolated state has been using radio-jamming against the South for about a month.
It said the disruption has affected more than 100 airplanes and vessels in South Korea, although no significant mishaps have been reported.
This marks the North’s first GPS disruption in four years, according to a military official.
“The North’s actions are taking place in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, and Mount Geumgang,” the official said, on condition of anonymity.
The defense ministry said it is closely cooperating with relevant entities, including MSIP, by sharing information.
Ministry of Unification spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Friday: “The North should immediately stop its provocative actions and rather should do things that can help improve inter-Korean relations and its own welfare.”
Meanwhile, Pyongyang launched a surface-to-air missile into the water off its east coast Friday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This was the latest in a series of apparent protests against the United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution, adopted on March 2 over the North’s Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 long-range rocket launch.
The launch took place hours after President Park Geun-hye met U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and vowed to press the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
The JCS said the North fired the anti-aircraft missile toward the East Sea around 12:45 p.m. from South Hamgyong Province, in the country’s northeast. It said the military is on high alert amid heightened cross-border tensions.