By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) – South Korea on Thursday summoned the Russian envoy to express its protest over military aircraft flights.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry noted that this marked the eighth time since March 11 that Russian jets encroached into Seoul’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), reported Seoul-based Yonhap News, citing the ministry.
The ministry summoned Col. Nikolai Marchenko, a military attache at the Russian Embassy in the capital Seoul, to protest the move and urge no recurrence.
Several Russian warplanes crossed into the zone over the East Sea earlier Thursday. The planes flew as close as 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) to South Korea’s airspace without an answer to communication attempts.
Seoul sent its own fighter jets in response, said the ministry.
On Saturday, Several Russian fighter jets crossed into South Korea's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East Sea during military training.
An ADIZ is a designated area of international airspace extending beyond a nation's sovereign borders where aircraft identification is required for national security purposes.