South Korean drill error: bombs wound over seven civilians

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, a South Korean KF-16 fighter jet accidentally dropped MK-82 bombs outside a designated firing range during a joint US-South Korea military exercise.

According to the South Korean Air Force statement, the jet “abnormally dropped” eight bombs during a live-fire drill near the inter-Korean border.

Some of the bombs landed in a populated village north of Seoul, severely injuring four people and causing minor injuries to three others. The explosion also damaged a church and two residential buildings.

“We deeply regret the unintended bomb release, which caused civilian casualties, and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” the statement read. It added that an investigation was underway and all the necessary measures, including compensation, would be taken.

The incident took place at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, about 25 km south of the North Korean border. The exercise involved more than 160 pieces of military hardware and was attended by Gen. Xavier Bronson, the top US commander in Korea, and South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soon.

The drill, the first of its kind this year, was held in preparation for the upcoming Freedom Shield exercises, one of the largest annual joint military drills between the two allies.

Notably, the US maintains tens of thousands of troops in South Korea. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.