Seoul, South Korea – South Korea suspends training flights for Air Force aircraft and all survival exercises Its fighter jets bombed civilians by chanceOfficials said Friday that potential setbacks were imposed on the upcoming annual military training in the United States.
Two South Korean KF-16 fighters mistakenly released four MK-82 bombs in a civilian area in Pocheon on Thursday, a nearby city Tension border with North Korea. Nearly 30 people were injured, two of whom were seriously inflicting, when South Korea and U.S. forces were conducting live drills after practice with their wider Free Shield Command.
This year’s Free Shield exercise is the first major joint training for the Allied forces since President Trump returned to office in January and is concerned about North Korea’s thriving military cooperation with Russia.
South Korea and the United States announced details of the exercise on Thursday, but it was overshadowed by news of the bombing that drew strong public criticism from South Korea.
Chris Jung / Cat (Nurphoto)
Both South Korean and U.S. forces stopped all live exercises throughout South Korea. Military officials said the South Korean Air Force also stopped flights of all its aircraft, besides surveillance and other aircraft needed for emergencies.
Military officials said the Free Shield training will be as planned, and they plan to restart live and flight training after discovering the exact reasons for the bombing and developing precautions.
But, observers say, if they resume suspended training by Monday, it would hurt the operation of the early part of the exercise when they start the Free Shield with the U.S. military.
Possible problems with joint exercises between the United States and South Korea
Lee Illwoo, an expert on South Korea’s defense network, said that the suspension of flight training would particularly cause “a big problem when checking the operational plans of both countries.” Flying fighters are crucial to determining their actual capabilities, discussing the size of reinforcements from foreign aircraft and modifying the operational plans of allies, he said.
The initial investigation found that one of the KF-16 pilots entered a wrong coordinate to carry out the bombing site. Officials said pilots on the two jets had more than 200-400 hours of flight time. But Lee said they may only drive the KF-16 for two to three years.
South Korean and U.S. forces have begun live practices related to the Free Shield, and Thursday’s live shooting exercise is one of them. Colonel Ryan Donald, a spokesman for the U.S. military in South Korea, confirmed that U.S. military personnel are participating in on-site fire training on Thursday, but said they are still not involved in U.S. Air Force aircraft.
“We take this incident very seriously. We are in close coordination with Rock Defense Department and are committed to conducting a thorough and transparent investigation,” Donald said in a statement.
The incident happened when North Korea’s fierce rhetoric about the United States and South Korea intensified as it viewed their joint exercise as an invasion exercise. North Korea’s state news agency warned Friday that the United States and South Korea “must pay a high price for their stupid and reckless war exercises.”
Mr Trump said he would once again engage with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to revive diplomacy, but Pyongyang did not respond to any proposals he might make.
In Seoul, there are concerns that Mr. Trump may reduce U.S. military exercises in South Korea, as he complained about the cost of bilateral exercises during his first term and once unilaterally announced the cancellation of an exercise after its first summit with Kim Jong Il.
But Lee said Mr. Trump now knows the importance of South Korea in the U.S. Indo-Pacific and China policy and will not conduct a size drill with South Korea.
According to the South Korean military, this year’s on-site training was conducted with the Freedom Shield, involving 16 brigades on-site training, while 10 last year’s training sessions were higher than 10 last year’s.
