A South Korean air force explosive ordnance disposal specialist inspects an unexploded bomb found at a construction site in Cheongju, South Korea, March 13, 2024. (South Korean air force)
SEOUL, South Korea — A laborer wielding a spade found an intact, 1,000-pound bomb from the Korean War at a construction site Wednesday, less than a week after an identical bomb was unearthed there.
The worker at the site in Cheongju, 60 miles south of Seoul, found the bomb in a 19.6-foot crater and reported it to police, a South Korean air force spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone the next day.
The spokesman declined to identify the construction site. South Korean officials regularly speak to the media on a customary condition of anonymity.
Air force explosive ordnance disposal specialists identified the object as an American AN-M65 general-purpose bomb from the 1950-53 Korean War, the spokesman said. They removed the detonator and carried the bomb away for further investigation, he said.
The bomb turned up 32 feet from the spot where another M-65 was found and removed by the South Korean air force on March 7.
Following the second bomb’s discovery, Cheongju officials, construction workers and police agreed construction “should cease for a while until safety is guaranteed,” a city hall spokesman said by phone Thursday.
“The military’s [explosive ordnance disposal] team is now exploring there in consideration of possible bombs,” the spokesman said. “Our city doesn’t know how long it will take, but, if the team finds no more bombs there, the construction company is going to be able to restart its work there then.”
M-65 bombs were dropped from P-47 Thunderbolt and B-26 Invader aircraft on structures such as dams and railroad bridges, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s website.
An unexploded Korean War-era bomb was found at a construction site in Cheongju, South Korea, March 13, 2024. (South Korean air force)
Unexploded ordnance from the Korean War is regularly found throughout South Korea.
In June, a railway worker at a construction site a mile from the U.S. Army’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul reported smoke emanating from the ground; South Korean army specialists collected an unspecified piece of unexploded ordnance from the site without injuries.
In April, unexploded ordnance was found and dismantled at another construction site near Yongsan Station, about a 15-minute walk from the garrison.
