Latest news with #KF-16s
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Korea pauses military drills after accidental bombing
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea suspended the training flights of air force aircraft and all live-fire drills following its fighter jets' accidental bombing of a civilian area, officials said Friday, posing a potential setback to its upcoming annual military training with the United States. On Thursday, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly released four MK-82 bombs each on a civilian area in Pocheon, a city near the tense border with North Korea. The bombing, which injured nearly 30 people, two of them seriously, occurred when South Korean and U.S. forces were engaging in a live-fire drill in connection with their broader Freedom Shield command post exercise set to begin Monday. This year's Freedom Shield exercise is the allies' first major joint training since President Donald Trump returned to office in January and comes amid concerns about North Korea's booming military cooperation with Russia. South Korea and the U.S. announced details of the exercises Thursday, but it was overshadowed by the news of the bombing, which drew intense public criticism in South Korea. Both the South Korean and U.S. militaries halted all live-fire exercises across South Korea. Military officials said that South Korea's air force also stopped the flights of its entire aircrafts except surveillance planes and others needed for emergency situations. Military officials said the Freedom Shield training will proceed as scheduled and they plan to restart live-fire and flight training after they find the exact cause of the bombing and formulate preventative steps. But if they fail to resume the paused training by Monday when they kick off the Freedom Shield exercise with the U.S. military, that will hurt the workings of the early parts of the exercise, observers say. Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said the suspension of flight training would particularly cause 'really a big problem in examining the two countries' operational plans.' He said flying warplanes would be essential to determining their actual capabilities, discussing the size of reinforcements of U.S. aircraft from abroad and modifying the allies' operational plans. Initial investigations found the pilot of one of the KF-16s entered the wrong coordinates for a bombing site. Officials said the pilots of two KF-16s had more than 200-400 hours of flying time. Lee said they likely piloted KF-16s only two to three years. The South Korean and U.S. militaries have already begun field exercises in connection with the Freedom Shield, and Thursday's live-fire drill was one of them. Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the U.S. military in South Korea, confirmed that American servicemembers were participating in Thursday's live-fire training but no U.S. air force aircraft was still involved. 'We take this incident very seriously. We are coordinating closely with the ROK Ministry of Defense and are committed to a thorough and transparent investigation,' Donald said in a statement, using the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The incident happened as North Korea was ramping up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea, as it views their joint drills as invasion rehearsals. North Korea's state news agency warned Friday that the U.S. and South Korea 'will have to pay dearly for their stupid and reckless war drills.' Trump has said he would reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy, but North Korea hasn't responded to his overture. In South Korea, there were concerns that Trump might scale back U.S.-South Korean military drills because, during his first term, he complained about the cost of bilateral exercises and once unilaterally announced the cancellation of one drill after his first summit with Kim. But Lee said Trump now knows the importance of South Korea in America's Indo-Pacific and China policies and won't downsize drills with South Korea. This year's field training being held alongside the Freedom Shield involves 16 brigade-level field trainings, up from 10 such drills last year, according to South Korea's military.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Number of people injured after fighter jets accidentally drop bombs rises to 29, South Korea says
SEOUL, South Korea — The number of people injured when South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped bombs on a civilian area has increased to 29 from 15, the National Defense Ministry said Friday. Those injured include 15 civilians and 14 military personnel, the ministry said. Seven civilians and two soldiers remain hospitalized, including two civilians classified as seriously injured, while 20 other people have been treated and discharged, it said. The accident occurred Thursday during military training in Pocheon, a northeastern city of about 140,000 people near the heavily fortified border with North Korea. U.S. and South Korean forces were conducting a live-fire drill in preparation for Freedom Shield, an annual U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise that is set to get underway Monday. A total of eight 500-pound MK-82 bombs were 'abnormally released' by two South Korean air force KF-16s, landing outside the designated firing range. While the Freedom Shield exercise is going ahead as planned, Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said Friday that the U.S. and South Korean militaries had agreed to pause all live-fire training until further notice. USFK said earlier that no U.S. Air Force aircraft participated in the exercise. South Korea, a U.S. treaty ally, hosts almost 30,000 U.S. service members. The Freedom Shield exercise, which runs for 10 days from March 10, is designed to strengthen the alliance's combined defense posture in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. North Korea criticized the Freedom Shield exercise Friday, saying it would worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula and violate its "sovereignty, security and interests.' 'If the U.S. continues to renew its record of military muscle-flexing, we will have no option but to renew our record of displaying strategic deterrent,' the state-run KCNA news agency said in a commentary. Stella Kim reported from Seoul, and Julia Zhong reported from Hong Kong. This article was originally published on
NBC News
07-03-2025
- General
- NBC News
Fighter jet misfire casualty number rises to 29, South Korea says
SEOUL, South Korea — The number of people injured when South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped bombs on a civilian area has increased to 29 from 15, the country's Ministry of National Defense said Friday. The casualties include 15 civilians and 14 military personnel, the ministry said. Seven civilians and two soldiers remain hospitalized, including two civilians classified as seriously injured, while 20 other people have been treated and discharged, the ministry said. The accident occurred on Thursday during military training in Pocheon, a northeastern city of about 140,000 people near the heavily fortified border with North Korea. U.S. and South Korean forces were conducting a live-fire drill in preparation for Freedom Shield, an annual U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise that is set to get underway Monday. A total of eight 500-pound MK-82 bombs were 'abnormally released' by two South Korean air force KF-16s, landing outside the designated firing range. While the Freedom Shield exercise is going ahead as planned, Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said Friday that the U.S. and South Korean militaries had agreed to pause all live-fire training until further notice. USFK said earlier that no U.S. Air Force aircraft participated in the exercise. South Korea, a U.S. treaty ally, hosts almost 30,000 U.S. service members. The Freedom Shield exercise, which runs from March 10 to 20, is designed to strengthen the alliance's combined defense posture in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. North Korea criticized the Freedom Shield exercise on Friday, saying it would worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula and violate its "sovereignty, security and interests.'
CBS News
07-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
South Korea military drills pause after accidental bombing may hinder upcoming exercises with U.S., experts say
Seoul, South Korea — South Korea suspended the training flights of air force aircraft and all live-fire drills following its fighter jets' accidental bombing of a civilian area, officials said Friday, posing a potential setback to its upcoming annual military training with the United States. On Thursday, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly released four MK-82 bombs each on a civilian area in Pocheon, a city near the tense border with North Korea. The bombing, which injured nearly 30 people, two of them seriously, occurred when South Korean and U.S. forces were engaging in a live-fire drill in connection with their broader Freedom Shield command post exercise set to begin Monday. This year's Freedom Shield exercise is the allies' first major joint training since President Trump returned to office in January and comes amid concerns about North Korea's booming military cooperation with Russia. South Korea and the U.S. announced details of the exercises on Thursday, but that was overshadowed by the news of bombing, which drew intense public criticism in South Korea. Both the South Korean and U.S. militaries halted all live-fire exercises across South Korea. Military officials said South Korea's air force also stopped the flights of all its aircraft except surveillance planes and others needed for emergency situations. Military officials said the Freedom Shield training will proceed as scheduled and they plan to restart live-fire and flight training after they find the exact cause of the bombing and formulate preventative steps. But if they fail to resume the paused training by Monday, when they kick off the Freedom Shield exercise with the U.S. military, that would hurt the workings of the early parts of the exercise, observers say. Possible issues with U.S.-South Korean joint exercises Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said the suspension of flight training would particularly cause "really a big problem in examining the two countries' operational plans." He said flying warplanes would be essential to determining their actual capabilities, discussing the size of reinforcements of U.S. aircraft from abroad and modifying the allies' operational plans. Initial investigations found the pilot of one of the KF-16s entered wrong coordinates for a bombing site. Officials said the pilots of the two jets had more than 200-400 hours of flying time. But Lee said they likely piloted KF-16s only two to three years. The South Korean and U.S. militaries have already begun field exercises in connection with the Freedom Shield, and Thursday's live-fire drill was one of them. Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the U.S. military in South Korea, confirmed that American servicemembers were participating in Thursday's live-fire training but said no U.S. air force aircraft were still involved. "We take this incident very seriously. We are coordinating closely with the ROK Ministry of Defense and are committed to a thorough and transparent investigation," Donald said in a statement, using the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The incident happened as North Korea was ramping up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea, as it views their joint drills as invasion rehearsals. North Korea's state news agency warned Friday that the U.S. and South Korea "will have to pay dearly for their stupid and reckless war drills." Mr. Trump has said he would reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy, but Pyongyang hasn't responded to any overtures he might have made. In Seoul, there were concerns that Mr. Trump might scale back U.S.-South Korean military drills because during his first term, he complained about the cost of bilateral exercises and once unilaterally announced the cancellation of one drill after his first summit with Kim. But Lee said Mr. Trump now knows the importance of South Korea in America's Indo-Pacific and China policies and won't downsize drills with South Korea. This year's field training being held alongside the Freedom Shield involves 16 brigade-level field trainings, up from 10 such drills last year, according to South Korea's military.
Boston Globe
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
South Korea stops some military drills after accidental bombing in possible setback to US exercises
Advertisement South Korea and the U.S. announced details of the exercises on Thursday, but it was overshadowed by the news of bombing which drew intense public criticism in South Korea. Both the South Korean and U.S. militaries halted all live-fire exercises across South Korea. Military officials said that South Korea's air force also stopped the flights of its entire aircrafts except surveillance planes and others needed for emergency situations. Military officials said the Freedom Shield training will proceed as scheduled and they plan to restart live-fire and flight training after they find the exact cause of the bombing and formulate preventative steps. But if they fail to resume the paused training by Monday when they kick off the Freedom Shield exercise with the U.S. military, that will hurt the workings of the early parts of the exercise, observers say. Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said the suspension of flight training would particularly cause 'really a big problem in examining the two countries' operational plans.' He said flying warplanes would be essential to determining their actual capabilities, discussing the size of reinforcements of U.S. aircraft from abroad and modifying the allies' operational plans. Initial investigations found the pilot of one of the KF-16s entered wrong coordinates for a bombing site. Officials said the pilots of two KF-16s had more than 200-400 hours of flying time. Lee said they likely piloted KF-16s only two to three years. Advertisement The South Korean and U.S. militaries have already begun field exercises in connection with the Freedom Shield, and Thursday's live-fire drill was one of them. Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the U.S. military in South Korea, confirmed that American servicemembers were participating in Thursday's live-fire training but no U.S. air force aircraft was still involved. 'We take this incident very seriously. We are coordinating closely with the ROK Ministry of Defense and are committed to a thorough and transparent investigation,' Donald said in a statement, using the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The incident happened as North Korea was ramping up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea, as it views their joint drills as invasion rehearsals. North Korea's state news agency warned Friday that the U.S. and South Korea 'will have to pay dearly for their stupid and reckless war drills.' Trump has said he would reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy, but North Korea hasn't responded to his overture. In South Korea, there were concerns that Trump might scale back U.S.-South Korean military drills, because during his first term, he complained about the cost of bilateral exercises and once unilaterally announced the cancellation of one drill after his first summit with Kim. But Lee said Trump now knows the importance of South Korea in America's Indo-Pacific and China policies and won't downsize drills with South Korea. This year's field training being held alongside the Freedom Shield involve 16 brigade-level field trainings, up from 10 such drills last year, according to South Korea's military. Advertisement
