North Korea's Balloon Attack Increases South Korean Flight Risk

Incheon Airport South Korea/UNSPLASH/Pond Juprasong

JAKARTA - The 'attack' of garbage balloons, missile launches, and the emergence of GPS "spoofing" (fake GPS location) in North Korea increases risks in South Korea's airspace.

In late May, North Korea began flying thousands of balloons filled with trash bags, including human waste, which was hung underneath into South Korea, which analysts say is a form of psychological warfare.

Hundreds of balloons landed in South Korea during seven waves between May 29 and June 27, including one on the runway of Incheon airport, which forced delays in takeoff and landing for three hours at South Korea's largest international gate.

When the balloons first appeared, flight navigation disruptions from North Korea also increased, including what appeared to be the first attack of the so-called spoofing' affecting commercial aircraft in South Korea.

The security of the airspace is gradually deteriorating, said OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information, in a June bulletin.

"There is no official airspace warning for South Korea, but the risk situation seems to be getting worse," Reuters reported on Wednesday, July 10.

South Korea's Ministry of Transport said the military, air traffic control authorities, and airlines maintain a 24-hour monitoring and communication system.

South Korean military detected these balloons using day and night surveillance assets, a military spokesman said, without providing further details.

North Korea, which also launched a trash balloon in 2016, said it was retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea who delivered goods through balloons.