SEOUL: South Korea said it had lodged a protest with representatives of China and Russia on Wednesday, a day after Seoul said those countries’ warplanes had entered its air defense zone.
Seoul said the complaint had been lodged with the defense attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.
“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighboring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the International Policy Bureau at Seoul’s defense ministry, referring to the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone.
South Korea said Tuesday it had deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russia incursion into the KADIZ.
The planes were spotted before they entered the air defense identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.
Beijing later in the day confirmed it had organized drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans.”
And Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.
Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.
In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defense zone.
Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.
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South Korea protests over China, Russia aircraft incursions
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South Korea protests over China, Russia aircraft incursions
- Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises
Hegseth says US ‘can’t stop everything’ that Iran fires even as he asserts air dominance
WASHINGTON (AP): Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged Wednesday that some Iranian air attacks may still hit their targets even as he asserted that US military superiority is quickly giving it control of the Islamic Republic’s airspace.
The US has spared “no expense or capability” to enhance air defense systems to protect American forces and allies in the Middle East, Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon days after the US and Israel attacked Iran in a war that has widened throughout the region.
“This does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” he said.
The acknowledgement that additional drone or missile strikes in the region could cause damage and harm to troops comes as President Donald Trump and top defense leaders have warned that additional American casualties were expected in a conflict that could last months.
US service members “remain in harm’s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same press conference.
Six soldiers were killed when an Iranian drone strike hit an operations center Sunday in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait, miles away from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, says the center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.
Hegseth also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying it could last eight weeks but that the US has the munitions and the equipment to beat Iran in a war of attrition. He declined to set a specific time range, saying the specific duration of the war would depend on how it unfolds.
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” he said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”
More forces continue to arrive in the region, including jet fighters and bombers, Hegseth said, and the US “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”
Tehran has vowed to completely destroy the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure — signaling the war was nowhere near over and could expand further.
President Donald Trump said this week the campaign are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
The US has spared “no expense or capability” to enhance air defense systems to protect American forces and allies in the Middle East, Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon days after the US and Israel attacked Iran in a war that has widened throughout the region.
“This does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” he said.
The acknowledgement that additional drone or missile strikes in the region could cause damage and harm to troops comes as President Donald Trump and top defense leaders have warned that additional American casualties were expected in a conflict that could last months.
US service members “remain in harm’s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same press conference.
Six soldiers were killed when an Iranian drone strike hit an operations center Sunday in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait, miles away from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, says the center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.
Hegseth also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying it could last eight weeks but that the US has the munitions and the equipment to beat Iran in a war of attrition. He declined to set a specific time range, saying the specific duration of the war would depend on how it unfolds.
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” he said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”
More forces continue to arrive in the region, including jet fighters and bombers, Hegseth said, and the US “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”
Tehran has vowed to completely destroy the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure — signaling the war was nowhere near over and could expand further.
President Donald Trump said this week the campaign are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
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