South -Korean fighter jet accidentally decrease bombs, wounding 8 people

Seoul, South Korea (AP) – two South -Korean Hunting jets accidentally threw eight bombs on a civilian area during a Common exercise of living fire with the American army On Thursday, injuring eight people, officials said.

The MK-82 bombs released by the KF-16 combat jets fell outside a shooting range, the air force said in a statement. He asked for excuses and expressed his hopes for a quick recovery of the wounded and said he would provide compensation and do other necessary measures.

Air Force said the fighter planes were participating in the one -day shooting exercise with the US Army in Pocheon, a city close to the strong armed border with North Korea.

South Korean Air Force F-35a Jets Fire Shells during the common military exercise between South Korea and the United States at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, South Korea, March 6, 2025 (Yonhap by AP)

The air force also said that a committee will investigate the accident and examine the extent of the damages.

An unidentified air forces official told local reporters that a pilot of one of the KF-16S introduced wrong coordinates for a bombing place. An unidentified official of the Ministry of Defense told reporters that an additional investigation is needed to determine why the second KF-16 also threw bombs on a civilian area.

The soldiers of the South Korea army are on the guard next to a place of bombs, where a fighter jet in South Korea has accidentally threw bombs on a civilian area, in Pocheon, South Korea, March 6, 2025 (Yonhap by AP)

In a television information, Mayor Pocheon, Paek Young Hyeun, called the “terrible” bombings and asked the military to stop the exercises in the city until they formulate trusted steps that can prevent a recurrence. He said that Pocheon, a city of 140,000 people, offers three major firing intervals for the South -Korean and US military.

Park Seong-Sook, a 70-year-old eyewitness, who was not injured in the bombing, said he thought “a war had erupted.”

“It was such a loud sound,” she said, adding that she left her trembling.

The military declared on Thursday that he decided to suspend all live fire exercises in South Korea.

The accident came just before the South Korean military and the US announce that the annual military exercises will be widely large.

It is not clear how long the live training will take, but the observers said it will be likely until the military will determine the cause of the accident on Thursday and make preventive stages.

Pocheon’s disaster response department said six civilians and two soldiers were injured and treated at hospitals. Four of the wounded – all civilians – were in serious condition, the department said. Two of the seriously injured are strangers, one from Thailand and the other in Myanmar.

Three houses, a Catholic church and a greenhouse were partially damaged, but they do not seem to have been hit directly by the bombs, according to the department.

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This report contributed the video journalist Associated Press, Yong-Ho Kim from Pocheon, South Korea.