SEOUL, July 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's fighter jets on Tuesday fired warning shots at a Russian military aircraft that violated South Korea's airspace above the eastern waters, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) cited by local media reports.
The Russian bomber reportedly trespassed in territorial skies early in the morning near the South Korea-controlled islands of Dokdo (Takeshima), disputed territory between South Korea and Japan, marking the first time that a Russian military airplane violated "the airspace of South Korea."
The bomber flew inside "the South Korean airspace" for about three minutes twice from 9:09 a.m. (0009 GMT) and 9:33 a.m. (0033 GMT) each local time, according to local media.
The South Korean air force scrambled fighter jets, such as F-15K and KF-16, firing warning shots at the Russian aircraft.
The presidential Blue House of South Korea said in a statement that Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for President Moon Jae-in, has sent a protest message to his Russian counterpart.
Chung said in the message that South Korea took this case very gravely and would take stronger measures if such military acts are repeated, according to the Blue House spokesperson Ko Min-jung.
Chung also asked his Russian counterpart to take proper actions after grasping what happened, according to the Blue House.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied the allegation, saying in a statement later Tuesday that "the route of the Tu-95 MS aircraft passed without deviations from the plan in accordance with international regulations at a distance of more than 25 km from the Dokdo (Takeshima) Islands without violating the airspace of South Korea."
