Russia denies violating South Korean sovereign airspace

Blue House Press Secretary Yoon Do-han

Blue House announces collection of evidence, asking Moscow to never repeat incident again

The Russian government officially denied that its military aircraft had made an incursion into South Korean airspace on July 23 and asserted instead that the countermeasures by the South Korean military had endangered the Russian aircraft. Countering the Russian government’s claim, the Blue House said it was acquiring radar footage and the pilots’ radio communication and would prove that the incursion had occurred. The Blue House also asked Russia to promise that the incident would not be repeated.

On July 24, Blue House Press Secretary Yoon Do-han made public a message the Russian government had sent to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense. In the message, Russia said that strategic bombers and early warning and control aircraft with the Russian Aerospace Forces had carried out a planned flight on July 23 when two South Korean F16 fighters approached them and engaged in unprofessional and threatening behavior, blocking their flight path. In the message, Russia also accused the South Korean pilots of refusing to communicate with the Russian pilots and of not issuing any warnings. According to the message, the Russian aircraft hadn’t deviated from their planned flight path and had obeyed international law. Russia also warned that it was capable of taking countermeasures if the South Korean air force engaged in similar flight behavior.

Violation of KADIZ by Russian and Chinese aircraft

In response, Yoon emphasized that the South Korean government was acquiring a sound recording of communication between the pilots, video footage of the radar, and a sound recording of the warning shots. “The radio communication shows South Korean pilots saying, ‘Get out [of our airspace],’ without any response from the Russians. We will have [the Russians] review the material to prove the intrusion into our air space. They need to promise to prevent this from recurring,” Yoon said.

The message sent by the Russian government — which uses language about “countermeasures” that bizarrely presents Russia as the victim — represents a sharp turn away from Russia’s cautious stance. The previous day, Russia had sent a military attaché to South Korea’s Defense Ministry to express “deep regret” even while denying that an incursion had occurred.

The shift provoked criticism from South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND), which said, “The Russian government’s claims not only distort the facts but also contradict the message they sent yesterday through diplomatic channels in which they expressed regret and promised to make an effort to find out exactly what happened and to prevent a recurrence.”

This earlier message had been reported during a morning briefing by Yoon. “At 3 pm on July 23, the Russian deputy military attaché met with the head of policy planning bureau at the Defense Ministry to express deep regret for [the airspace incursion]. The military attaché said the aircraft appeared to have entered an unplanned area because of an equipment malfunction,” Yoon said.

Official message a complete reversal of stance expressed by attaché

According to Yoon, the military attaché in question had said that “this wasn’t a deliberate incursion” and even added that “an appropriate apology and expression of regret will be made subsequently by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, and in the press.” But far from expressing regret or mentioning a malfunction, the official message from the Russian government on Wednesday only attempted to shift the blame to South Korea.

On July 25, the Russian and South Korean governments are planning to hold working-level deliberations in Seoul about the Russian aircraft’s incursion into South Korean air space near Dokdo. The officials who will reportedly attend these deliberations are bureau chiefs from South Korea’s MND and officials from the Russian embassy to Seoul. During the deliberations, the Defense Ministry will reportedly submit related data to prove that the incursion took place.

“The first matter of business is to present the data that we have to clearly settle our disagreement through the working-level deliberations. It’s important to prevent this from happening again,” said a South Korean government official.

Yoon also responded to the fact that Japan claimed territorial rights to Dokdo in connection with the Russian aircraft’s incursion into South Korean airspace near the island. “All that Japan should concern itself with is issuing a position about its air defense identification zone. It’s South Korea’s place to respond about the issue of our airspace,” he said.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, Noh Ji-won, and Seo Young-ji, staff reporters

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