South Korea and Japan deploy jets as warplanes enter Korean defense zone

South Korea’s military said on Thursday (December 14) it dispatched fighter jets in response to the entry of two Chinese and four Russian military planes into its air defense zone, known as the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ). Despite the intrusion into the KADIZ, the military said the aircrafts did not violate South Korea’s territorial airspace. Japan also scrambled jets to observe the joint flights of Chinese and Russian bombers and fighters, according to its defense ministry. An ADIZ is usually an area where countries may unilaterally demand that foreign aircraft take special steps to identify themselves, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization. That is different from a nation’s airspace, which usually means the space above its territory, extending 12 nautical miles away from its coastline. The Sun newspaper brings you the latest breaking news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world Become a Sun Subscriber