South Korean army investigators have charged two Air Drive pilots with legal negligence following an unintended bombing of the village of Nogok-ri, which resulted in a minimum of 29 accidents and important property harm.
The incident occurred on March 6, when two KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly launched eight MK-82 bombs over Nogok-ri, Pocheon, close to the North Korean border, throughout a live-fire train.
“The Felony Investigation Command has confirmed within the probe thus far that the pilots’ misguided entry of goal coordinates was the direct explanation for the accident,” the protection ministry stated on Thursday, in line with Yonhap. The charged pilots have been faraway from flight duties, and their flight certifications are below evaluate.
The bombing injured a minimum of 29 folks, together with 15 civilians, with two people sustaining severe accidents. The explosions, which occurred exterior the designated firing vary, precipitated in depth harm to civilian constructions, together with 5 homes, a church, a warehouse, and a greenhouse.
Footage of a bomb falling on the village of Nogok in South Korea.Newest knowledge, 15 folks, together with two troopers, have been injured on account of a mistaken bomb drop by a fighter jet of the nationwide air drive. Earlier than this, a bomb was dropped by mistake again in 2004. pic.twitter.com/wb2LLryKak
— MissRedPillUp (@makingtrailsKY) March 6, 2025
In response to the incident, the South Korean Air Drive has suspended all live-fire workout routines and grounded coaching flights pending an intensive investigation. The Air Drive Chief of Employees has apologized and pledged to evaluate mission procedures to forestall comparable occurrences sooner or later.
The US Forces Korea (USFK) stated that no US Air Drive plane have been concerned within the botched live-fire train. Nonetheless, the mishap has raised considerations amongst native residents concerning the security of such drills close to civilian areas. Pocheon and neighboring areas host coaching grounds utilized by each South Korean and US army forces.
North Korea has criticized the joint drills, stating that such accidents spotlight the chance of those workout routines escalating into armed battle, significantly if ordnance have been to inadvertently cross into North Korean territory.
“There isn’t any want to clarify how the state of affairs would have developed if a bomb had been dropped in the direction of the north a bit additional to cross the border of the DPRK,” North Korea’s state information company KCNA stated in a commentary on Wednesday. “It’s not unreasonable to think about that an unintended spark may plunge the Korean Peninsula, the area, and the remainder of the world into a brand new armed battle.”
The incident occurred forward of the annual Freedom Defend workout routines, a significant joint army drill between South Korea and america, scheduled from March 10 to March 20. Whereas live-fire drills have been suspended, the command publish workout routines have proceeded as deliberate. On Wednesday, they simulated an assault on a North Korean facility suspected of storing an unidentified weapon of mass destruction (WMD).
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