SKorea scrambles fighters as Chinese, Russian warplanes enter air defense zone
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Republic of Korea F-15K Slam Eagles takes off for a training mission at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, March 8, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Dwane R. Young via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - DVIDS)
SEOUL - South Korea's military said it had scrambled fighter jets when Chinese and Russian military planes entered and left its air defence zone on Tuesday.
Seven Russian planes and two Chinese planes had entered the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) at around 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) then left, and there was no breach of its territorial airspace, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
An earlier report by the Newsis news agency had said 11 planes had entered the air defence zone.
The Russian and Chinese military aircraft had been identified and South Korean fighter jets were deployed in case of any contingencies, the JCS said.
The aircraft spent about an hour in the KADIZ off South Korea's east and south coast, the Yonhap News Agency also cited South Korea's military as saying.
Chinese and Russian military aircraft typically conduct joint exercises around the Korean Peninsula once or twice a year, Yonhap reported.
(Reporting by Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies // REUTERS)
