6 Chinese, Russian military aircraft enter Korea's air defense zone: JCS
Jet fighters that took off from China's Shandong aircraft carrier are seen, south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, April 10. Courtesy of the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan
Two Chinese and four Russian military aircrafts entered Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) in the East Sea without notice Thursday, Seoul's military said, prompting the South to send its fighter jets to the scene.
Between 11:53 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., the Chinese and Russian aircrafts entered the KADIZ from north of the eastern island of Ulleung and exited it from east of the easternmost islets of Dokdo, according to an official at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The aircrafts did not violate Korea's air space, the official added.
The JCS said it had detected the Chinese and Russian aircrafts before their entry into the KADIZ and mobilized the Air Force's fighter jets to take tactical measures against a contingency.
The air defense zone is not territorial airspace but is delineated to call on foreign planes to identify themselves so as to prevent accidental clashes.
The JCS official said Korea protested about the incursion to China through a direct military line, while it did not make such a protest to the Russian side as the two sides do not operate such a communication line.
In June, four Chinese and four Russian military planes entered the southern and eastern parts of the KADIZ, according to the JCS. (Yonhap)