"On 5 April 2019, the Il-38 plane from the Naval Aviation of the Pacific Fleet conducted a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan", the ministry said in a statement issued by its press service late on Friday.
The ministry added that at certain stages of the flight, the Russian aircraft had been followed by South Korean F-16 jets and Japanese F-15 fighters.
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The Russian military added that it had carried out all its flights in line with international norms regulating the use of airspace. The ministry emphasised that its jets do not cross into the airspace of other countries during such missions.