At least 29 people were injured when South Korean fighter jets unintentionally bombed residences.
South Korea’s Seoul :
More than two dozen people were hurt Thursday when South Korean fighter jets unintentionally hit houses during a live-fire exercise with US forces, according to Seoul’s military.
In Pocheon city, northeast of the capital Seoul, the South Korean Air Force said eight MK-82 general-purpose bombs were “abnormally dropped” from two KF-16 fighter jets and landed outside the permitted firing range at around 10:07 a.m. local time, striking civilian infrastructure.
According to preliminary investigations, the mishap was caused by a pilot entering inaccurate bombing coordinates, according to South Korea’s defense ministry.
Thick smoke billowed into the air in a rural region in a photograph that local media sites said captured the aftermath of the explosions.
Authorities said the incident injured at least 29 individuals, including 14 soldiers. Two bystanders were critically hurt out of the 15 injured.
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Two residential buildings, a truck, and a portion of a church were destroyed by the explosions.
In a televised statement, Pocheon Mayor Baek Young-hyun described the scene of the incident as chaotic and akin to a battlefield.
The South Korean Air Force told, without giving any other information, that the planes were taking part in a joint live-fire exercise with the South Korean Army and the US military as part of the yearly joint US-South Korea “Freedom Shield” military training.
The military of South Korea announced that all live-fire drills would be halted starting on Thursday until the investigation into the incident was complete.The air force promised to pay for damages and established an accident response team to conduct an investigation.
The air force wished the injured a speedy recovery and expressed regret that the “abnormal bomb release has caused civilian damage.”
According to an air force official,officials have not ruled out the likelihood of a malfunction.
No US Air Force aircraft participated in the exercise,according to a statement later released by a spokesman for the United States Forces Korea (USFK). It stated that the USFK is working with Korean authorities on the inquiry and that the other scheduled military exercises would proceed in addition to the halted live-fire training.
In order to improve the joint defense posture of the US-South Korean alliance,Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced earlier Thursday that the Freedom Shield exercises would take place from March 10 to March 20.
North Korea, which has nuclear weapons, considers the yearly exercises provocative and frequently becomes agitated. North Korean officials denounced the drills as “infringing on its sovereignty and security interests” in a statement released Friday through state-run media, and they threatened to “pay a severe price” for the US and South Korea.
Pyongyang frequently retaliates with aggressive threats after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions through their joint drills.
According to the South Korean military, North Korea conducted a ballistic missile launch in 2023 while US strategic bombers participated in combined air maneuvers with South Korean forces.