Accidental South Korean air force bombing injures eight people

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Eight people have been injured in South Korea after bombs dropped by an air force jet landed in a civilian district, damaging houses and a church during military exercises in Pocheon, the air force and a fire official say.

An official with Gyeonggi-do Bukbu Fire Services said out of the eight people wounded, two were seriously hurt.

Pocheon is about 40km northeast of the capital Seoul, near the heavily militarised border with North Korea.

South Korea’s air force said eight 226kg Mk82 bombs from a KF-16 jet fell outside the shooting range during joint live-fire exercises on Thursday.

“We are sorry for the damage caused by the abnormal drop accident, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery,” the air force said in a statement.

Two South Korean air force KF-16 fighter jets below a United States air force B-1B bomber during joint exercises in South Korea in March 2023. A KF-16 fighter dropped the bombs in Thursday’s incident. Source: Getty / Handout/South Korean Defence Ministry

Residents in the area have protested about the disturbance and potential danger from nearby training grounds for years.

Photographs shared by news agency News1 that it said were from the scene showed a badly damaged house with rubble strewn on the ground next to it.

The defence ministry said earlier on Thursday that South Korea and United States forces were holding their first joint live-fire exercises in Pocheon, linked to annual military drills due to start next week.

This year’s drills will reflect “lessons learned from recent armed conflicts” and North Korea’s growing partnership with Russia, Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said.