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South Korea Says Russian Military Airplane Violated Its Airspace

VOA News

   South Korea says it fired warning shots at a Russian military aircraft
   after the plane breached South Korea's airspace.

   South Korea's Defense Ministry says three Russian aircraft entered its
   air defense identification zone early Tuesday morning off its east
   coast before one of them breached the airspace. South Korean air force
   jets were deployed to intercept the plane and forced the Russian plane
   to leave the airspace.

   But the aircraft violated the airspace 20 minutes later, and stayed
   briefly before South Korean fighter jets fired another warning shot.

   The ministry says it was the first time a Russian military aircraft
   violated South Korean airspace. Two Chinese aircraft also flew into the
   South's air defense identification zone off the east coast hours
   earlier. The ministry says it will summon both Russian and Chinese
   embassy officials later Tuesday to lodge a formal protest.

   The violation happened near a disputed group of islands claimed by both
   South Korea, which calls it Dokdo, and Japan, which calls it Takeshima.