South Korea Claims North Korea Is Jamming GPS Signals On Planes

South Korea this week has accused North Korea of jamming GPS signals on incoming planes, causing more than 250 flights to lose GPS contact while landing and taking off from airports throughout South Korea.

While no direct evidence has come forward at this time North Korea has been caught jamming GPS signals in the past and as early as last month the country wasn’t exactly playing nice, breaching U.S. Security Council resolutions when it attempted and ultimately failed to launch a long-range missile.

Flights which have had GPS signals jammed include 11 foreign airlines, however South Korea’s Transport Ministry says no planes were in danger as pilots simply switched over to alternative systems that do not rely on GPS signals. North Korea’s vehicle mounted GPS jamming devices are believed to reach distances up to 60 miles away with new technologies rolling out all the time.

A government official speaking to MSNBC noted:

“As it happened at the time of (military) drills in 2010 and 2011, we suspect North Korea was engaged in jamming signals.”

The Defense Ministry in South Korea in the meantime has not said if it would take retaliatory measures against South Korea if it is confirmed that the signal jamming is coming from inside the country.

GPS jamming at the present moment would arrive during a time when North Korea has stepped up its rhetoric against South Korea, threatening to reduce Seoul to ashes.

In the meantime North Korea is expected to test a third nuclear bomb in the near future, possibly through the use of a uranium based devices.

And while North Korea paid just $15 to build its countries website, South Korean officials say the North’s cyber warfare capabilities are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their scope, a major concern for a tech savvy country such as South Korea.