Pocheon: Pilot error is suspected to have caused an accidental fighter jet bombing of a civilian area Thursday in a border city that left at least 15 people injured, military officials said. Earlier in the day, two KF-16 fighter jets "abnormally" released eight MK-82 air-to-surface bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, according to the officials.
According to Yonhap News Agency, an Air Force official told reporters that an initial investigation found that one of the pilots of the single-seat jets mistakenly entered the coordinates for the strike target, leading to the accidental bombing. A defense ministry official stated that the military will suspend all live-fire drills until the exact cause of the accident is determined.
The accidental bombing took place as South Korean and U.S. troops conducted live-fire drills, involving more than 160 pieces of military hardware, including tanks and fighter jets, at the training range near the border with North Korea.