1. After its 208th Session in Montreal, Canada, from May 16 to June 17, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council adopted on June 22 a decision to send a strong warning message to North Korea over its repeated interferences of GPS signals, an issue formally raised by the Republic of Korea to ICAO.

° In addition, the ICAO Council decided to send to North Korea a letter signed by the ICAO Secretary-General to notify the North of the outcome of the Council meeting that reflects the shared view of the 36 member states of the ICAO Council that North Korea’s interferences of GPS signals are an issue not only between the ROK and North Korea but also of the international community that poses a grave threat to the safety of civilian flights of 14 countries.

2. The ICAO Council’s decision, as proposed by the ROK government, calls for developing a mechanism for joint participation of ICAO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in investigations by countries attacked by GPS jammings. Accordingly, the decision has paved the way for officials of the international organizations to immediately join the ROK’s investigation in the event of a repeated interference of GPS signals by North Korea and to help respond promptly based on the outcome of objective investigations.

° Previously in 2012, when North Korea interfered with GPS signals, the ICAO Council adopted a decision calling for the prevention of the recurrences of such cases. The decision in 2016 includes tougher content than the one in 2012 did.

4. The ICAO Council’s decision to take tougher measures in 2016 than in 2012 in response to North Korea’s GPS signal jammings demonstrates the international community’s stern commitment to no longer tolerate North Korea’s violations of international norms.

° At the recent ICAO Council meeting, such member states of the ICAO Council as China and Russia that had been passive about taking a hard-line response to North Korea in 2012 shared the view that repeated GPS jammings by North Korea are a serious risk factor in terms of the safety of international civilian aviation and did not raise any objection to pinpointing North Korea in the decision.


* unofficial translation