Science ministry holds joint GPS jamming response drill

The science ministry said it held a joint civilian, government and military GPS-jamming response drill near Paju, testing interference moving toward a nationally important energy facility.

Held at 2 p.m. during the Aug. 18-21 Ulchi exercise period, the drill brought together the defense ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff, the transport and maritime ministries, and telecom operators including KT. The ministry said the exercise was conducted to strengthen civilian, government and military coordination and assess crisis-management capabilities during GPS interference.

The scenario simulated jamming at two locations in Paju at the same time, with the interference moving between locations. One simulated source approached and attempted to disrupt a nationally important energy facility.

The ministry said GPS interference can disrupt location information for air, sea and land transport and timing signals used by communications, power and financial services. After detecting the jamming, it received reports from related agencies on the status of aircraft, vessels and base stations before issuing a GPS-jamming crisis alert. Working with the military to locate and remove the source, it deployed four signal-tracking teams and one mobile strike unit. Transport authorities issued aviation notices advising caution in GPS use and turned to alternative navigation and ground-based safety facilities to support aircraft operations.

Maritime authorities reinforced navigational warnings and shifted toward radar and terrestrial broadcasts, while telecom providers used network synchronization to maintain stable services. The ministry plans to add improvements identified in the exercise to its crisis-response manual.