Fifteen people were injured in South Korea on Thursday after bombs from fighter jets mistakenly struck a civilian area, damaging houses and a church during military exercises in Pocheon, according to the Air Force and fire department.
The Gyeonggi-do Bukbu Fire Services reported that among the injured, two sustained serious wounds. Pocheon, located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Seoul, lies near the heavily militarised border with North Korea.
South Korea’s Air Force confirmed that eight 500-pound (225kg) Mk82 bombs from KF-16 jets fell outside the designated shooting range during joint live-fire exercises.
“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.
Residents in the area, who have long protested against the risks posed by nearby training grounds, were evacuated around midday as authorities inspected the site for unexploded ordnance, Yonhap news agency reported.
Photographs from the scene showed shattered windows and a church building covered in debris.
Earlier on Thursday, the defence ministry stated that South Korea and the United States were conducting their first joint live-fire exercises in Pocheon, ahead of their annual military drills set to begin next week.
The joint Freedom Shield exercise, running from Monday until March 20, aims to bolster the alliance’s readiness against threats, including those from North Korea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
This year’s drills will incorporate “lessons learned from recent armed conflicts” and take into account North Korea’s growing ties with Russia, the JCS said.
“Our planners look across the globe and identify the trends that are changing and we look at how we can incorporate that into our exercises,” Ryan Donald, a spokesperson for the United States Forces Korea (USFK), told reporters on Thursday.
Around 70 combined field training sessions are planned for this year’s exercise, according to JCS spokesperson Lee Sung-jun.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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