Pyeongtaek city fails to reach US military via hotline over reported white phosphorus leak: official
The city of Pyeongtaek attempted several times to reach the U.S. military in Korea via a telephone hotline to confirm the reported leak of white phosphorus at Osan Air Base last month, but the calls went unanswered, city officials said Monday, raising questions about the effectiveness of the supposed hotline. The city, which hosts the Osan base located some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, attempted…
The city of Pyeongtaek made multiple attempts to contact the U.S. military at Osan Air Base via a designated hotline to confirm reports of a white phosphorus leak, but their calls went unanswered, city officials reported on Monday. This lack of response has raised concerns about the functionality of the hotline system. Pyeongtaek, home to the Osan Air Base situated approximately 60 kilometers from Seoul, attempted to verify the leak through the hotline three times, but they were unable to establish contact at the time.
The 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Base informed the city of a white phosphorus residue leak inside a munitions crate during a routine inspection on July 28. In response, Pyeongtaek issued an evacuation alert for nearby residents. According to a city official, the inability to reach the U.S. military through the hotline led to the decision to issue the emergency evacuation alert.
The official added that the city's government made this decision after consulting with officials from the U.S. air force unit.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
