South Korea fires warning shots at Russian aircraft

International Desk: South Korea fired hundreds of warning shots at a Russian bomber and scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday after what officials in Seoul described as an “unprecedented” violation of the country’s airspace.

Seoul’s defence ministry confirmed its air force had fired about 360 shots after Russian strategic bombers twice flew into South Korean airspace above the Sea of Japan on Tuesday morning.

“We are taking the incident very seriously. If such an act is repeated, [South Korea] will take a far stronger measure,” said Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at the presidential office in Seoul.

The incident marked a serious intensification of tensions over Russian military aviation operations in the region after its aircraft violated South Korea’s air defence identification zone in May and June, military experts said.

Moscow denied that the Tu-95MS bombers violated South Korean air space and said it did not recognise the country’s claim over the territory. It accused South Korean F-16 fighter jets of “creating a threat” to the Russian planes.

“It was not the first time that South Korean pilots tried unsuccessfully to prevent Russian aircraft from flying over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. _Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/July 23, 2019/AKA