‘Russia’s KADIZ violations are provocative operations,’ says U.S.

The U.S. State Department said Russian military planes’ violations of the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) were “provocative operations” and it will try to prevent future attempts by Russia.

“The U.S. strongly supports our ally, South Korea, and its concerns regarding the recent provocative air force operations by Russian military jets. We are working closely with South Korean counterparts regarding this matter,” an official of the State Department said during a briefing session on Tuesday (local time). “We will keep an eye on future developments, and prevent further attempts by Russia to destabilize the region. The U.S.’ commitment to protecting its allies is ironclad.”

South Korean and Russian military officials held a Joint Military Commission meeting at the building of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on Wednesday. The two sides will discuss the installation of a direct military telephone line to share flight information of planes accessing air defense identification zones to prevent accidental conflicts during the closed meeting until Thursday.

The South Korean military strongly complained about six Russian military jets’ violations on Tuesday and called for no more recurrence of such incidents during the meeting. “Russia shares the need for opening a direct phone line, but is insisting that it will not recognize foreign countries’ air defense identification zones, such as the KADIZ,” said a South Korean military source. A South Korea-Russia Joint Military Commission meeting is held annually to prevent accidental military conflicts and promote military exchange and friendly cooperation between the two countries.


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