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South Korea has scrambled dozens of military aircraft, including advanced F35 fighter jets, after spotting 180 North Korean warplanes flying in North Korean territory in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength.
North Korea’s aerial exercises on Friday came after the North test-fired around 30 ballistic missiles during the two previous days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday that triggered evacuation warnings in Japan, in an angry response to U.S.-South Korea joint air force drills involving hundreds of their warplanes.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean warplanes were detected in various areas inland and along the country’s eastern and western coasts, but they did not come particularly close to the inter-Korean border.
None of those planes breached the South Korean military’s virtual “tactical action” line, which is designated 20 to 50 kilometers (12 to 31 miles) north of the Koreas’ land and sea boundaries for monitoring purposes to give the South enough time to respond to provocations or attacks.
