South Korean Jets Fires Warning Shots Toward Russian Military Plane – The New York Times

Both times, the Russian plane violated South Korea’s airspace for a few minutes, prompting South Korean F-15 and F-16 fighter jets operating nearby to fire 20 flares and 360 machine gun rounds as warning shots from a half mile away, the officials said. The South Korean jets took the action after the Russian plane did not answer repeated radio warnings.

The South Korean military provided no further details. But its officials said that it was highly unusual for Russian and Chinese planes to stage a joint flight mission over the sea between South Korea and Japan.

In recent years, long-range bombers and reconnaissance planes from the Russian and Chinese militaries have frequently entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone, prompting its air force to dispatch fighter jets to confront them.

But the episodes on Tuesday marked the first time in recent memory that a Russian warplane entered South Korea’s territorial airspace without approval, South Korean officials said.

Chung Eui-yong, the national security adviser for President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, sent a warning to his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Mr. Moon’s office said on Tuesday. It warned that South Korea would take “a far stronger action” if Russia tried similar maneuvers.