| Date: 09/05/2012 Time: 06:24:00 PM |
South Korea plans to urge North Korea to immediately
stop electronic jamming signals that have raised new safety concerns for
civilian flights and ships amid Pyongyang's military threats, Yonhap News
Agency reported Wednesday.
North Korea has been disrupting global positioning system (GPS) signals
since April 28, though no accidents have been reported, the Korea
Communications Commission in Seoul said. GPS is a satellite-based navigation
system widely used by flights, ships and military as well as ordinary drivers.
The communications watchdog said South Korea will lodge protests over the
North's ongoing electronic jamming signals with North Korean representatives
at the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas. The rival
Koreas keep a Red Cross channel at Panmunjom to communicate urgent matters.
South Korea will also plan to hold close consultations with the
international community over the North's jamming attacks and push to raise the
issue with the International Telecommunication Union and the International
Civil Aviation Organization, said the watchdog.
The watchdog said the North's jamming signals pose a threat to the safety
of international civilian flights. The jamming attacks have affected 609
flights by 10 South Korean airlines and 48 foreign flights by 22 foreign
airlines, including Korean Air, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, according
to the transportation ministry.
It also said a US military plane and 176 South Korean ships were also
affected by disruption in GPS signals. Still, no accidents have occurred and
flights and ships have been able to operate normally by using an inertial
navigation system that uses a computer, motion sensors as well as rotation
sensors. |