During a failed mission in 2019, United States Navy SEALs reportedly shot and killed multiple North Korean civilians while attempting to plant a listening device in the nuclear-armed nation, a top U.S. news outlet has reported.
The operation was said to have received approval from President Donald Trump during his first term.
According to The New York Times, the classified mission was executed by SEAL Team 6, the elite U.S. Navy unit renowned for high-risk operations, including the 2011 killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan’s Abbottabad.
The mission took place amid sensitive diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang in early 2019.
The SEALs were tasked with covertly infiltrating North Korean territory under the cover of darkness and installing a listening device designed to monitor the country’s leadership.
Operating with blackout communications, however, the mission quickly went awry.
Several North Korean civilians, reportedly foraging for shellfish near the shore, accidentally encountered the U.S. operatives as they came ashore.
Fishermen Shot Dead
The SEALs opened fire, killing all occupants of a small fishing vessel, the Times reported. The news outlet did not provide precise figures regarding the number of casualties.
Officials familiar with the operation told the Times that U.S. forces attempted to conceal the incident from North Korean authorities by disposing of the bodies in the water. One source described how SEAL members allegedly “punctured the boat crew’s lungs with knives to ensure their bodies would sink.”
The report said that it obtained details about the failed mission through interviews with dozens of individuals, including civilian government officials, members of the Trump administration, and current and former military personnel with knowledge of the operation.
All sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the mission’s classified nature. Several of the interviewees said they came forward because they were concerned that failures by U.S. special operations forces are “often hidden by government secrecy.”
Sources indicated that the mission received final authorisation from President Trump during his first term in office. When asked about the report on Friday, Trump denied having any knowledge of the operation.
“I could look, but I know nothing about [it],” Trump told reporters. “I’m hearing it now for the first time,” he added.
U.S. officials told the Times that it remains “unclear” whether North Korea ever fully understood what occurred during the 2019 operation.
North Korea did not publicly comment at the time about the civilian deaths, and has yet to respond to the Times’ recent reporting on the incident.
(With inputs from IBNS)
