Seoul, South Korea: KADIZ aircraft activity prompted South Korea to scramble fighter jets on Saturday after nearly 10 Chinese and Russian military planes entered its air defence identification zone, the military said.
The aircraft entered the Korean Air Defence Identification Zone over South Korea’s eastern and southern waters on June 27, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the planes did not enter South Korea’s territorial airspace. South Korea’s military detected the aircraft before they reached the zone.
The military then sent Air Force fighter jets to prepare for possible contingencies. The aircraft left the identification zone shortly after entering it, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said the incident appeared linked to joint air drills by China and Russia. An air defence identification zone is not sovereign airspace.
It is a designated area where aircraft are asked to identify themselves before entering. The system aims to reduce the risk of accidental military confrontation.
The incident occurred amid ongoing military coordination between Beijing and Moscow in the region.
South Korea has monitored similar flights in recent years because Chinese and Russian aircraft have crossed identification zones during joint patrols.
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Seoul treats these entries as security alerts even when they do not breach national airspace. The latest episode added to regional attention on air activity near the Korean Peninsula.
It also placed focus on how quickly South Korea can detect and respond to aircraft approaching sensitive air corridors.
The KADIZ aircraft entry ended without a reported airspace violation, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
