A South Korean village near the North Korean border was mistakenly shelled on Thursday by two fighter jets from the South’s own air force, leaving 15 people injured and damaging homes and a church.
The jets were taking part in a joint exercise with the United States military when each of them dropped four bombs, according to the South’s military. The bombs were meant to hit a range several miles from the village, but at least one of the South Korean pilots had entered inaccurate coordinates, the military said.
Four of the injured people were seriously wounded and required surgery, said officials in Pocheon, a town that includes the village of Nogok, where the bombs fell. Of the other 11, seven suffered shock and minor scratches from falling down. Local news outlets said none of the victims was in critical condition.
The military said it was suspending all live-fire drills while an investigation was carried out. The exercise Thursday was connected to annual joint exercises, known as Freedom Shield, that the South Korean and U.S. military carry out every year, and which are set to officially begin on Monday.
A woman in Nogok who runs a shop in her home said she was there when an “earthquake-like” explosion rattled the village, breaking windows in her house and in neighbors’ houses. Her home was 700 feet from the spot where the most serious damage was reported.
Photos carried by local news outlets showed a house in the village with parts of its walls and tiled roof blown away. They also showed damage to a Catholic church, and torn branches from pine trees strewn around.
The South Korean Air Force did not say how many of the eight bombs dropped had hit Nogok, which is about 20 miles from the heavily fortified North Korean border. It issued an apology and promised compensation for the victims.
“Something that should never have happened just happened,” said Mayor Baek Young-hyun of Pocheon. “The place where the bombs landed is utterly chaotic and looks like a battlefield.”
Mr. Baek said that three large military firing ranges occupy 12,253 acres of land in Pocheon and bullets that ricocheted from there have sometimes endangered villagers. He demanded that the military stop using the firing ranges until it can ensure that accidents like Thursday’s never happen again.
On Thursday, the South Korean and United States militaries said that this year’s Freedom Shield exercises would begin on Monday and last 11 days. But in recent days, they had begun smaller joint drills in connection with the main exercises.
American troops — but no United States Air Force aircraft — were participating in the joint live-fire exercise when the accident happened on Thursday, the U.S. military in Korea said.
“We take this incident very seriously,” said Col. Ryan Donald, a U.S. military spokesman, adding that his command was coordinating closely with South Korea’s defense ministry and was committed to a thorough and transparent investigation.
The United States has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. The allies conduct several joint military exercises each year, calling them defensive in nature. The Carl Vinson American aircraft carrier group steamed into a South Korean port this week to join the Freedom Shield exercise.
North Korea has bristled at the drills, calling them rehearsals for war.
On Monday, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, who also acts as his spokeswoman, accused President Trump’s administration of the “most hostile and confrontational will” against her country, citing its continuation of the joint exercises with South Korea.
“We will never confine ourselves to sitting still and commenting on the situation,” Ms. Kim said. She indicated that North Korea might resume testing nuclear-capable weapons.
