South Korean jet fighters conducting preparations for joint military exercises with the US mistakenly dropped eight bombs that landed just outside Seoul, the Wall Street Journal reported, injuring at least 15 people and destroying multiple buildings.
Footage has now been released which appears to show yesterday's "accidental bombing" in South Korea, in which an ROKAF KF-16 Multirole Fighter dropped 8 Mk-82 500lb Bombs on the Town of Dong-myeon in the Gyeonggi Province, during a Live-Fire Exercise with the U.S. Air Force. pic.twitter.com/txb43krnoi
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 6, 2025
The mishap raises fresh questions about South Korea's military capabilities as President Donald Trump's administration pushes US allies to shoulder more responsibility for their own defenses. This shift carries extra significance for Seoul, which still shares wartime operational control of its military with Washington.
Eight general-purpose MK-82 bombs were "abnormally released" and landed several miles outside their designated target range on Thursday morning, striking a village within the city limits of Pocheon, about 25 miles north of Seoul. The aircraft involved were South Korean KF-16 jets, each carrying four bombs.
Based on initial findings, Seoul's military said that at least one of the pilots appeared to have entered incorrect target coordinates. The military is still investigating potential errors by the pilot of the second jet.
Several buildings were destroyed, according to photos and video from local media. The bombs wrecked homes, smashed shop windows, and blew bricks off a church.
At least two soldiers were among the injured, who were transported to medical facilities by ambulance and helicopter. One victim had shrapnel lodged in their neck, while another suffered a fractured shoulder, according to local media. Approximately 50 residents have been evacuated to an emergency shelter, and the military has stated victims would receive compensation.
The South Korean live-fire drills were test runs ahead of large-scale joint military exercises between the US and South Korea. Called "Freedom Shield," the annual drills are scheduled to run from March 10 to 20. South Korea hosts around 28,500 American military personnel and the US's largest overseas military base.
US service members – but no American aircraft – participated in the joint Thursday exercise, a spokesman for US Forces Korea announced. The US is closely coordinating with South Korea to investigate the incident, he added. Seoul's military announced that such live-fire drills would be temporarily suspended pending safety checks.
South Korea transferred command of its military forces to the US-led United Nations Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. This arrangement continued until 1978, when Washington and Seoul established a combined forces command. South Korea regained peacetime control of its military in the 1990s, though wartime operations remain shared.
Plans for South Korea to assume wartime control have stalled in recent decades as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime carried out nuclear tests and became a greater threat. Seoul and Washington have established a verification process to determine whether South Korea is ready to lead combined forces during a potential military conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Elbridge Colby, nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, has expressed support for a swift transition of wartime control to Seoul. Asked directly about the issue ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Colby said in a written response that he supports efforts to bolster Seoul's role in the alliance, believing Trump's foreign-policy vision involves "empowering capable and willing allies like South Korea."
During a training exercise in #SouthKorea , a KF-16 fighter mistakenly dropped eight MK-82 bombs on a residential area in the city of Pocheon.
Seven people were injured, four of them seriously. Several homes and a church were also damaged. (Pictures/Video courtesy : X)… pic.twitter.com/cfXqH3l9TF— Deccan Chronicle (@DeccanChronicle) March 6, 2025
Lee Hyang-jin, a resident near a US Forces Korea live-fire complex in Pocheon, said she is accustomed to the loud rumble of jet fighters flying overhead. She was doing dishes while wearing headphones in the morning and only learned about the bombs later from the news.
"I feel anxious because it happened just over the mountain," she said. Lee added that she could hear the jets for another few hours after the incident. "If these jets dropped the bombs by mistake, why were they still in the air?" she questioned.
