Six Russian military aircraft reportedly violated South Korea's air defense identification zone on Wednesday.
According to a South Korean military official on Thursday, two Tu-95MS strategic bombers and four other military jets entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone(KADIZ) near South Korea's easternmost Dokdo islets in the East Sea early Wednesday.
The official said the Russian aircraft stayed in the area for 20 minutes before flying into Japan's air defense zone. The South Korean Air Force reportedly took a response measure immediately by sending fighter jets.
Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that two Tu-93MS bombers conducted a "routine flight over neutral waters" in the East Sea and the northeastern Pacific Ocean for about seven hours.
The KADIZ violation comes after the U.S. flew six strategic bombers near the Korean Peninsula on Monday and conducted a joint air drill with Japan just before South Korea and the U.S. kicked off their combined military exercises.