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A Russian Tu-95 bomber enters the KADIZ without authorization in July 2019. / Joint Staff, Ministry of Defense of Japan

Russian military aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) without prior authorization and later exited on the 25th.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 26th, several Russian military aircraft entered and exited the East Sea KADIZ the previous day, prompting the South Korean military to scramble fighter jets in response.

The Russian military aircraft were reported to have flown from the southeast to the northwest over the East Sea before entering the KADIZ near Ulleungdo and Dokdo. There was no violation of territorial airspace during this incident.

An air defense identification zone is an area arbitrarily designated to identify military aircraft approaching sovereign airspace early on, and it is distinct from sovereign territorial airspace. Customarily, foreign aircraft obtain prior authorization from the relevant country before entering its ADIZ.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "Our military detected the Russian military aircraft before they entered the KADIZ, and deployed Air Force fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for contingencies."

Meanwhile, in June, about ten Chinese and Russian military aircraft taking part in a joint air exercise entered the East Sea and South Sea KADIZ, prompting South Korean fighter jets to scramble in response.

                                                                                                             Lee Han-sol