Live-fire drills to resume in South Korea, two months after jets accidentally bombed town
According to Yonhap News Agency, this week, the Air Force will start to consecutively resume live-fire drills at training ranges each located in the western coast and the inner mountain regions of Gangwon Province, the armed service said in a notice to reporters.
On March 6, the KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometres north of Seoul, injuring 52 people and prompting the Air Force to halt all live-fire drills.
The Air Force has completed safety evaluations at the training facilities prior to the resumption of live-fire drills, intended to maintain military readiness, it said.
Still, live-fire drills at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon will continue to be put on hold, the Air Force said, adding it will review the issue going forward.
Both the Air Force and the defence ministry have pointed to pilot error over the unprecedented bombing of a civilian town, with the two pilots believed to have erroneously entered the target coordinates prior to the live-fire drills.
The pilots have been booked over charges of professional negligence resulting in injury and damaging military facilities. They have also been suspended from air duty for one year. — Bernama-Yonhap
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