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SEOUL: South Korea said on Tuesday (December 22) that it had launched fighter jets in response to an intrusion into South Korea’s air defense identification zone by 19 Russian and Chinese military jets.
Four Chinese fighter jets entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) followed by 15 Russian jets, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The South Korean military sent air force fighters to take tactical action.
The South Korean military said in a statement that the Chinese military had informed South Korea that its aircraft were undergoing routine training before the Chinese aircraft entered KADIZ.
“This incident appears to be a joint military exercise between China and Russia, but it requires further analysis,” the JCS said in a statement.
In July last year, South Korean warplanes fired hundreds of warning shots at Russian military aircraft in a joint air patrol with China as they entered South Korean airspace.
South Korea and Japan, which scrambled planes to intercept the patrol at the time, accused Russia and China of violating their airspace. Russia and China denied it.