South Korea said it fired warning shots at a Russian military aircraft on Tuesday after it violated the country's airspace off its east coast.

The Russian jet breached South Korean airspace twice prompting the Air Force to scramble fighter jets and fire warning shots, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.

The first violation occurred just after 9:00 am (midnight GMT Monday) and lasted three minutes.

The plane returned half an hour later, breaching the airspace for four minutes this time, the South's military said.

In response, the Air Force deployed multiple F-15k and F-16k jets to intercept the plane and fired flares after sending a message to the aircraft.

The official said it was the first time a Russian plane has violated South Korean airspace, adding that the military was investigating the matter.

The encounter occurred near the easternmost islets of Dokdo, disputed islands controlled by the South but claimed by Japan, the military said.

Seoul's defence ministry plans to lodge a protest to Russian officials later in the day.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the incident.

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Pence says US to press religious freedom in North Korea
Washington (AFP) July 18, 2019
Vice President Mike Pence vowed Thursday to press North Korea to respect freedom of religion, despite the narrow US focus on denuclearization in high-profile summits. Pence made the pledge to a high-level State Department conference on religious freedom, which came weeks after President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the third time and agreed to jumpstart working-level negotiations. "You can be confident, as President Trump continues to pursue the denuclearization of North ... read more