South Korean army investigators have charged two Air Pressure pilots with legal negligence following an unintentional bombing of the village of Nogok-ri, which resulted in a minimum of 29 accidents and vital 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 Prison Investigation Command has confirmed within the probe so far that the pilots’ misguided entry of goal coordinates was the direct reason behind the accident,” the protection ministry mentioned on Thursday, in line with Yonhap. The charged pilots have been faraway from flight duties, and their flight certifications are underneath assessment.
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, brought about intensive 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, had been injured because 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 Pressure has suspended all live-fire workout routines and grounded coaching flights pending a radical investigation. The Air Pressure Chief of Workers has apologized and pledged to assessment mission procedures to forestall comparable occurrences sooner or later.
The USA Forces Korea (USFK) mentioned that no US Air Pressure plane had been concerned within the botched live-fire train. Nonetheless, the mishap has raised issues 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 danger of those workout routines escalating into armed battle, notably if ordnance had been to inadvertently cross into North Korean territory.
“There isn’t any want to clarify how the scenario would have developed if a bomb had been dropped in direction of the north a little bit additional to cross the border of the DPRK,” North Korea’s state information company KCNA mentioned in a commentary on Wednesday. “It isn’t unreasonable to think about that an unintentional spark would possibly 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 Protect 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 put up 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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