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Seoul, Washington to Investigate Bomb Damage to S.Korean Villagers
A joint team of South Korean and U.S.officials will investigate the alleged U.S. bomb damage to South Korean villagers last week, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
The investigation will be conducted on May 18-20 to find whether there were casualties or property damages from dropping of six bombs by a plane of United States Forces Korea (USFK) on drill on May 8 this year in Maehyang-ri of Hwansong town in South Korea.
The 14-member investigation team will consist of South Korean officials from the Defense and Justice Ministries, police and local governments, villagers and USFK officials.
South Korea and the US have reached an agreement on the comprehensive measures after their talks began late last week in the wake of the bombing incident.
On May 8, one of three US A-10 aircraft which were en route from Osan Air Base to a training range near Kunsan, dropped six bombs due to engine trouble.
The bombs allegedly caused explosions that injured seven residents, shattered windows and damaged the walls and roofs of some 170 homes. But, the USFK denied that villagers were wounded by the bombing.
Seoul and Washington also agreed to come up with measures aimed at improving the way drills are conducted on the firing range in such a direction as to ensure the safety of villagers and minimize the noise problem.
The South Korean ministry also said it will press ahead with a plan to relocate villagers in Maehyang-ri more aggressively to resolve problems arising from the existence of the training range there.
"We will relocate about 238 households in Maehyang-ri, located near the range, as soon as the villagers agree on the relocation," Major General Lee Kwang-kil of the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry reached an agreement on the relocation with residents in January 1997 but the agreement broke down due to dissent opinions among the villagers. About 65 billion won (some 60 million U.S.dollars) is needed to relocate all the 238 households.
At the same time, a USFK spokesman denied press reports that the A-10 bomber dropped bombs made from armor-piercing depleted uranium on the firing range on May 8.
"In fact, the dropped bombs were MK-82 bullets. The U.S. Air Force has never used depleted uranium shells in South Korea," the spokesman said.
The depleted uranium shell, often called the "silver bullet," can pierce the toughest armored vehicles. Its shrapnel is allegedly radioactive and leaves a potential heavy metal problem.
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