The secret mission, reportedly approved by Trump in 2019, resulted in civilian deaths
The US Navy’s elite special operations unit, SEAL Team Six, carried out a covert mission inside North Korea that violated international law and left civilians dead, the New York Times has reported.
The 2019 operation, reportedly authorized by President Donald Trump during his first term, sent commandos to plant a surveillance device designed to intercept the communications of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. The intelligence was intended to strengthen US leverage during nuclear negotiations between Kim and Trump.
Officials briefed on the mission told the outlet that SEAL Team Six – the unit best known for killing Osama bin Laden in 2011 – launched from submarines and used mini-submersibles to approach the North Korean coast. But in the dark of night, the team failed to notice several men in a nearby boat. Believing them to be hostile forces, the SEALs opened fire, killing two or three unarmed fishermen. They then reportedly retrieved the bodies, punctured the lungs so they would sink, and abandoned the mission before reaching the target site.
Breakdowns in communication and surveillance reportedly compounded the problems, the article continued. Commanders aboard supporting submarines could not maintain radio contact, drones were unavailable, and satellite imagery was outdated, leaving the team without reliable intelligence. A subsequent military review concluded the killings resulted from “an unfortunate sequence” of unforeseeable events rather than misconduct, but the findings were kept classified.
The mission was never disclosed to Congress, raising concerns about the lack of oversight, and may have violated US law, according to the NYT.
North Korea has never acknowledged the incident, and it remains unclear whether Pyongyang ever learned of it until now.
In 2019, Trump sought a breakthrough with Kim on North Korea’s nuclear program, but talks failed and Pyongyang pressed ahead. Washington now estimates North Korea has about 50 nuclear warheads and missiles capable of hitting the US.
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