This Time, an Accidental Firing Incident of an Army Mortar

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] An accidental firing incident occurred at an army unit in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, where a mortar shell missed its target by about 1 km and landed in a nearby hillside during mortar firing training.

According to the army on the 19th, during a 4.2-inch (107mm) mortar live-fire training at an army unit in Paju on the 14th, a high-explosive shell flew past the 2.2 km target point by about 1 km and exploded after landing in a nearby hillside.

The location where the shell landed is a hillside owned by the Korea Forest Service, and no casualties or property damage occurred. The military is investigating the cause of the accident by questioning military personnel who were present at the scene.

An army official stated, "The officer preparing for the firing was supposed to remove some of the propellant from the high-explosive shell, but it seems this was not done," adding, "As a result, the propellant was overcharged, causing the shell to travel beyond the target point."

The 4.2-inch mortar shell has a lethal radius of 30 to 40 meters, so if it had landed in an area with people or houses, it could have caused casualties. The military did not disclose the occurrence of this accident externally, raising suspicions of concealment.

Some critics argue that the mortar shell missing its target by as much as 1 km during live-fire training points to issues with military discipline.

In December 2018, a similar accidental firing incident occurred during 60mm mortar firing training at an army unit in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. At that time, during training involving three companies, one shell landed 800 meters away from the target area in a hillside near the firing range.

Investigations revealed that the firing parameter calculations were inaccurate, and the safety control officers on site failed to check this, leading to the misfire accident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.