Newsletters
South Korea scrambled fighter jets Saturday after over 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone over waters east and south of the Korean Peninsula, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The aircraft entered and then left the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, or KADIZ, over the East Sea and the South Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
South Korea said the aircraft did not violate its airspace.
"South Korea's military detected the Chinese and Russian aircraft before they entered the zone and deployed Air Force fighter jets to prepare for any contingency," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, without giving further details.
An air defense identification zone is not sovereign airspace but a buffer area where countries identify approaching aircraft for security purposes.
Military aircraft are generally expected to notify the relevant country before entering its air defense zone, though such notification is not legally required.
China and Russia did not immediately comment on Saturday's incident.
South Korea said its military had detected the aircraft before they entered the zone and sent fighter jets as a precaution.
The latest incident followed a previous entry into the KADIZ in December 2025, when nine Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered the zone.
South Korea and Japan reacted furiously at the time.
South Korea's Defense Ministry lodged protests with Beijing and Moscow over that incident, while Japan expressed "serious concern" over national security.
China and Russia said then that the flights were part of a joint patrol over the East Sea and the western Pacific.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
3 min read
