South Korea stops some military drills after accidental bombing in possible setback to US exercises

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — 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 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.

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.

Police officers stand guard as protesters attend a press conference demanding to stop the upcoming Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and also demanding to investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Protesters attend a press conference demanding to stop the upcoming Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and also demanding to investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 7, 2025. Banners read "Stop the Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Protesters shout slogans during a press conference demanding to stop the upcoming Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and also demanding to investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 7, 2025. Banners read "Stop the Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Protesters attend a press conference demanding to stop the upcoming Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and also demanding to investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 7, 2025. A banner reads "Stop the Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and Demand to Investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Protesters shout slogans during a press conference demanding to stop the upcoming Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and also demanding to investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 7, 2025. A banner reads "Stop the Freedom Shield military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea and Demand to Investigate the cause thoroughly about fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

BEKKERSDAL, South Africa (AP) — Nine people have died and at least 10 others were wounded after a group of gunmen carried out a shooting at a South African pub during the early hours of Sunday, authorities said.

The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. in the township of Bekkersdal which is located 46 kilometers (28 miles) west of Johannesburg. It is the second mass shooting in South Africa in three weeks.

About 12 unknown suspects in a white minibus and a silver sedan opened fire at pub patrons at KwaNoxolo tavern, in the Tambo section of Bekkersdal and continued to shoot randomly as they fled the scene, according to police.

“Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen,” the police said of the incident that left nine people dead and 10 hospitalized.

Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana, the acting provincial commissioner of Gauteng, told the AP at the scene that the gunmen, some of whom wore balaclavas, had one AK-47 rifle and several 9-millimeter pistols.

Police did not release information about the victims, but police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili confirmed that an e-hailing driver was among those caught in the crossfire. She said the driver had just dropped off a client.

“He was shot and killed,” she told The Associated Press.

The motive for the shooting is unknown. A manhunt for the suspects in the multiple gunshot event has been initiated by Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Investigations in collaboration with the Crime Detection Tracing Unit.

There have been several mass shootings at bars — sometimes called shebeens or taverns in South Africa — in recent years, including a mass shooting carried out by multiple suspects in an unlicensed bar near the South African capital that left at least 12 people dead and 13 injured earlier this month.

Another shooting killed 16 people in the Johannesburg township of Soweto in 2022. On the same day, four people were killed in a mass shooting at a bar in another province.

The second-largest political party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, called for a special task force to probe the two recent shootings in the province.

Surrounded by abandoned mine shafts, the Bekkersdal region is notorious for illicit mining operations, which have led to serious social problems, including gang violence and the proliferation of illegal firearms.

With almost 26,000 homicides in 2024, or more than 70 per day on average, South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides. Although the nation of 62 million has comparatively stringent gun control laws, officials say many murders are carried out using illegal firearms.

Gumede reported from Johannesburg.

South African police gather at the scene of a mass shooting where gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 in a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/ Alfonso Nqunjana)

South African police gather at the scene of a mass shooting where gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 in a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/ Alfonso Nqunjana)

Onlookers gather at the scene of a mass shooting where gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 in a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/ Alfonso Nqunjana)

South African police gather at the scene of a mass shooting where gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 in a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/ Alfonso Nqunjana)