Eight people were injured when a fighter jet accidentally dropped eight bombs in a civil area during a joint exercise between the American and South Korean Air Force on Thursday.
The chance bombing took place in Pocheon, a city close to the border with Noord -Korea.
The MK-82 bombs 'abnormal' released by the KF-16 fighter jet fell outside of a shooting range, which caused non-specific civil damage, including houses and a church, the Air Force said in a statement.
“We are sorry for the damage caused by the abnormal drop accident, and we wish the wounded a quick recovery,” she added.
The Air Force said it will set up a committee to investigate why the accident happened and to investigate the scale of civil damage. It said that the fighter jet with the army participated in the joint live-Firing exercises of the Air Force.
The Air Force apologized for causing civil compensation and expressed the hope of a quick recovery of the wounded people. It said that it will actively offer a fee and other necessary steps for victims.
The United States still has to comment on the chance bombing.
Yonhap News Agency reported five civilians and two soldiers were injured. Yonhap said that the circumstances of two of the wounded were serious, but not life threatening. It also said that seven buildings were damaged.
Eight people were injured when a South Korean fighter jet accidentally dropped eight bombs in a civil area during a joint exercise with the American Air Force Thursday
South Korean Air Force KF-16 fighter jets can be seen on the runway in Gunsan
The MK-82 bombs 'abnormal' released by the KF-16 fighter jet fell outside of a shooting range, which caused non-specific civilian damage, including houses and a church, the Air Force said in a statement
Residents in the area have been protesting for years about the disruption and potential danger of nearby training grounds.
Photos shared by News Agency News1 that said it was out of the scene showed a badly damaged house with debris littered on the floor next to it.
The Ministry of Defense said earlier on Thursday that South Korea and the American troops conducted their first joint live-Fire exercises in Pocheon, linked to annual military exercises that will start next week.
South Korea and the United States will start their annual Freedom Shield exercise on Monday, said Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The joint exercises, which will run until March 20, are intended to strengthen the willingness of the Alliance for threats such as Noord -Korea, according to the JCS.
This year's exercises will reflect 'lessons drawn from recent armed conflicts' and the growing partnership of Noord -Korea with Russia, it added.
“Our planners look all over the world and identify the trends that change and we look at how we can include it in our exercises,” said Ryan Donald, a spokesperson for the United States Korea (USFK), on Thursday to a media briefing.
North Korea regards great South Korean military training as an invasion deprivation and often responds with rakettes and fiery rhetoric.
The Air Force said it will set up a committee to investigate why the accident happened and to investigate the scale of civil damage. It said that the fighter jet participated in the joint live-firing exercises of the Air Force with the army
The Air Force Statement did not say where the accident took place. But South Korean media reported that it took place in Pocheon, a city close to the border with Noord -Korea
South Korean army soldiers and police officers are a guard nearby of a bomb accident in Pocheon
It did not respond to the announcement, but earlier this week Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the Noord -Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused the US of intensifying confrontational actions and threatened to increase the measures that threatened the safety of the enemy at a strategic level. '
She mentioned the recent temporary deployment of American strategic assets such as an aircraft carrier and long-distance bombers in South Korea and other military activities involved by the US.
Observers say that North Korea could test powerful powerful nuclear missiles of nuclear missiles designed to hit the American mainland and American military bases in the region.
Since his inauguration of 20 January, President Donald Trump has said that he would again reach Kim Jong Un to breathe new life into diplomacy.
Noord -Korea did not respond directly to Trump's reach, because it claims that the American hostilities have been deepened against it since Trump's inauguration.
Kim Jong Un and Trump met three times in 2018-19 to discuss how much economic and political benefits of North Korea would receive in exchange for his nuclear disarmament.
But their diplomacy eventually fell apart after Trump's offer of Kim to dismantle his most important nuclear complex, a limited denuclearization step, to dismantle, in exchange for extensive sanctions.
About 70 combined field training sessions are planned for this year's exercise, said Lee Sung-Jun, a spokesperson for Seoul's JCS.
