South Korea Unintentionally Hit its Own Base with a Missile While Warning the North

The South Korea military mistakenly hit its own Air Force base during one joint exercise it was conducting with the United States (US). The occurrence did not result in any casualties, although it left a lot of civilians in the worried.

Tensions between North and also South Korea have always run rife however have assumed more significance in current days after North Korea has carried out as many as six missile launches in the past 2 weeks. According to the BBC, the nation has justified its launches since the united state, Japan, and also South Korea have been carrying out one series of combined exercises for the past months.

Early on Tuesday, North Korea fired one intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew over nearly 3,000 miles (4,600 kilometres) over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean, The Korea Times reported.

The United States and South Korea response

The US and South Korea launched 2 missiles each in one coordinated drill. The US took to its long-trusted, surface-to-surface missile, the 190-mile (305 kilometers)-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).

South Korea released the domestically produced, Hyunmoo-2 missiles. Developed over the yrs, the Hyunmoo-2 missiles have one range of up to 341 miles (550 km) offered the proximity to North Korea, a Hyunmoo-2 missile fired from interior South Korea is expected to reach any target in the North.

Nevertheless, on this occasion, among the missiles malfunctioned and landed on among its own air force bases. According to NK Information, the rocket landed less than half a mile from civilian houses.

According to records on social media, there was a loud explosion which was followed by a fire. It had locals worried that the location was possibly under attack, without any official confirmation coming in till the next day morning.

The South Korean army later confirmed that the explosion was due to one of its own missiles, and the fire resulted from the burning rocket fuel. The problem does raise a few doubts over the capabilities of the US allies in the region.

What will happen next?

The US Air Force has just dispatched F-16 Fighting Falcons from the thirty-fifth Fighter Squadron at Kunsan Air Base while the aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagen, will additionally return to the Korean peninsula, having simply left the area, Gizmodo stated in its report.

These moves will further escalate tensions in the location, which have been simmering for the past few months now. The BBC report said that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un revised the country’s nuclear laws and declared the northern territory to be an “irreversible” nuclear power.

Satellite images show that North Korea has been restoring the tunnels of its nuclear examination site that it had declared were destroyed in 2018. Experts informed the BBC that they expected North Korea to carry out its 7th nuclear missile test in the weeks leading up to the mid-term elections in the US in November this year.

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