"Taking into account the importance of South Korean-Russian relationship, the sides agreed to raise the level of strategic dialogue to that of deputy defense ministers and create a direct line of communication between their air forces," the Korean National Defense Ministry said in a statement read.
"At separate stages of the itinerary, the Tu-95MS were followed by F-15 and F-16 fighter jets of the S. Korean Air Force, as well as by F-2A fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
In June, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian aerospace manufacturer Tupolev will repair eight Tu-160 (NATO reporting name Blackjack) and Tu-95MS (Bear-H) strategic bombers before the end of this year.
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The minister pointed out that such aircraft were an important component of the Russian nuclear triad, which makes their maintenance especially crucial. Russia is in the process of implementing a large-scale rearmament program, which aims to upgrade 70 percent of the country's military equipment by 2020.
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