South Korea scrambles jets as Russian, Chinese planes enter air defense zone
Thomas Maresca
Tue, December 9, 2025 at 8:33 AM UTC
1 min read
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- South Korea's air force scrambled fighter jets as nine Chinese and Russian military aircraft briefly entered its air defense zone on Tuesday morning, military officials said.
Seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, or KADIZ, above waters east and south of the country at around 10 a.m. before departing, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters.
"Our military identified the Chinese and Russian military aircraft before they entered the KADIZ and deployed air force fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingency," the JCS said.
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There was no airspace violation, it added.
An air defense zone is not territorial airspace but a broader region in which countries request foreign aircraft to identify themselves for security reasons.
China and Russia have entered the KADIZ without notification on numerous occasions since 2019 while conducting joint aerial training. In the most recent incident, 11 military planes from Russia and China flew into the KADIZ in November 2024.
The Russian and Chinese planes spent about an hour in the air defense zone on Tuesday, a military official told news agency Yonhap.