Russia has reportedly denied that its fighter jets violated sovereign airspace after several Chinese and Russian warplanes entered South Korea's air defense zone on Wednesday.

According to Reuters and other media, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Russian and Chinese aircraft acted strictly in accordance with the provisions of international law and that no foreign airspace was violated.

The statement also said that the patrols were part of joint maneuvers conducted annually by the two countries and were not directed against a third party.

The Russian ministry said that an air group of the Russian Aerospace Forces and strategic bombers of the Chinese Air Force carried out air patrols over the waters of the Yellow and East seas.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone off the country's southern and northeast coasts on Wednesday morning.