Artillery shells from joint South Korea-US military exercises fall on civilian areas

Authorities said they received a report at around 10 a.m. this morning, March 6 (Korean time) that a shell had fallen on a house in Pocheon city, about 43 kilometers north of the South Korean capital Seoul, injuring seven people and destroying several buildings, according to Yonhap.

An investigation is underway to find out where the shell fell from, including the possibility of it being related to a military exercise being held nearby, according to Yonhap.

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted a local fire official as saying that at least eight people were injured today after a shell fell on a civilian area, damaging houses and a church during a live-fire exercise in Pocheon. The official added that four of the eight injured were seriously injured.

Several photos shared by News1 news agency show a badly damaged house with debris scattered on the ground next to it.

The fire department also suspected that the shell that fell on the civilian area was from a joint live-fire exercise between South Korea and the United States. The fire department official did not have further details about the type of shell, but fire officials suspected that a fighter jet may have accidentally fired it.

Yonhap later reported that the South Korean Air Force said fighter jets had dropped bombs erratically outside the training range during a live-fire exercise.

Earlier in the day, South Korea's Defense Ministry said South Korean and US forces were holding their first joint live-fire drill in Pocheon, linked to annual drills scheduled to begin next week.