Russia expresses deep regret over military plane mistakenly flying into South Korean airspace

"The Russian side informed us that the recent violation of South Korean airspace by a Russian military aircraft was unintentional and may have been caused by a technical error," the South Korean presidential office said in a statement today. The message was delivered by a Russian military attaché to a South Korean defense ministry official yesterday.

In the message, Russia expressed "deep regret" over the incident, saying that a technical problem on the A-50 early warning aircraft may have caused the plane to deviate from its original route. "Russia informed that the flight was part of a joint military exercise with China and if the plane had flown on its scheduled route, the incident would not have occurred," the Blue House statement said.

The Russian Defense Ministry pledged to open an investigation and take necessary measures, according to Yoon Do-han, senior secretary to the South Korean president.

"Russia affirms that it always respects Korean international law. It also hopes that its relations with Korea will not be hindered by this incident. To prevent a similar incident from happening, Moscow wants to establish an emergency communication channel between the two countries' air forces," Mr. Yoon said.

South Korea on July 23 accused three Russian aircraft, including two Tu-95 bombers and an A-50 early warning aircraft, of entering its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), with the A-50 flying into South Korean airspace over the Dokdo/Takeshima islands. According to an unnamed official, South Korea fired 360 warning shots to drive away the Russian aircraft.