North Korea Disrupts GPS Signals in West Sea Islands Region for Fifth Consecutive Day

JCS: "Training Purpose for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Preparedness"

North Korea has been attempting GPS signal jamming in the West Sea border area between the North and South for five consecutive days.

Yonhap News

On the 12th, Lee Seong-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responded to related questions at a regular press briefing, saying, "Today as well, (North Korea's) GPS jamming occurred in some areas," adding, "It was in the West Sea island area and intermittently at a weak intensity in the early dawn."

North Korea has been attempting GPS signal jamming since the 8th. Previously, North Korea carried out GPS jamming attacks directed southward around the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea for five consecutive days from late May to early June. At that time, the jamming attacks were clearly provocations aimed southward based on the direction and output intensity of the signals. However, recent GPS jamming attempts have been reported to have lower output intensity detected by our military and shorter duration compared to those earlier attacks, making it ambiguous whether they constitute full-scale attack attempts.

Since the recent North Korean GPS jamming signals have targeted areas including the northern maritime region of Baengnyeongdo, it can be seen that North Korea is sending jamming signals toward the route of drone infiltration they claimed. The attendance of the commander of the Electronic Warfare Detection Unit, presumed to be responsible for GPS jamming, at the “Council on Defense and Safety” held by North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un on the 14th of last month to respond to South Korean drones also supports this observation.

Lee explained, "The activities (North Korea's GPS jamming) occurring in November are often for self-training purposes in preparation for drone appearances."