Prime secret SEAL Group 6 killed North Korean civilians throughout failed covert mission in 2019: report

A gaggle of Navy SEALs secretly entered North Korea in early 2019 to plant a tool to intercept the communications of dictator Kim Jong Un — however ended up firing on unarmed civilians diving for shellfish, puncturing their lungs to hide their our bodies and aborting the mission, in response to a report.

The highest-secret mission, reportedly licensed by President Trump throughout his first time period, was carried out by SEAL Group 6’s Purple Squadron — the identical unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, the New York Occasions reported Friday.

If profitable, the mission might have delivered vital intelligence amid delicate nuclear negotiations between Kim and Trump, the outlet reported based mostly on interviews with two dozen individuals, together with civilian authorities officers, members of the primary Trump administration, and present and former navy personnel with data of the mission.

The mission was so dangerous that it required Trump’s direct approval. If SEALs had been caught on North Korean soil, it might have sunk nuclear negotiations or led to a hostage scenario, the report claimed.

“I don’t know something about it. I’d must, I might look, however I do know nothing about it,” Trump instructed reporters Friday when requested concerning the alleged mission.

“I don’t know something about it. I’m listening to it now for the primary time.”

The SEALs rehearsed the mission for months in freezing water and deliberate to deploy from a nuclear-powered US submarine utilizing two stealth mini-subs — often called “moist subs” — to succeed in the North Korean coast, the Occasions realized.

Using for hours in frigid 40-degree seawater with scuba gear and heated fits, a staff of about eight SEALs would swim to the shore, plant the gadget and stealthily escape with out the assistance of overhead drones.

In February 2019, with Trump set to fulfill Kim in Vietnam later that month, the inexperienced gentle was issued for the mission, and the plan commenced, the outlet reported.

However the mission rapidly unraveled as soon as SEALs had been ashore.

A North Korean fishing boat unexpectedly appeared within the darkness. With no option to talk with the mission commander and fearing imminent discovery, a senior enlisted SEAL opened fireplace, with the opposite SEALs following swimsuit — killing everybody onboard, the outlet reported.

SEALs then pulled the our bodies into the water to hide them and reportedly punctured their lungs with knives so they might sink, in response to the Occasions.

Two to a few civilians on the fishing boat had been believed to be unarmed and diving for shellfish, sources conversant in the mission instructed the outlet.

The SEALs by no means planted the gadget and had been compelled to abort the mission.

US spy satellites detected a surge in North Korean navy exercise within the space instantly afterward, however it’s not clear whether or not North Korean authorities ever pieced collectively what occurred to the shellfish divers.

Trump’s talks with Kim on the Vietnam summit occurred as deliberate, however no deal was reached. By Might, North Korea resumed missile checks.

The 2019 mission had by no means been publicly acknowledged till the bombshell report, and the US authorities didn’t notify key congressional intelligence committees earlier than or after the mission, which can have violated federal legislation, specialists instructed the Occasions.

“The purpose is to make sure that Congress isn’t stored at midnight when main stuff is happening,” Matthew Waxman, a legislation professor at Columbia College who served in nationwide safety positions below former President George W. Bush, instructed the paper

“That is precisely the form of factor that might usually be briefed to the committees and one thing the committees would anticipate to be instructed about,” Waxman mentioned.

Lots of the individuals concerned within the mission had been later promoted, the outlet mentioned.

The SEAL mission was supposed to repair strategic blind spots in US intelligence, as businesses had lengthy struggled to watch North Korean management or domesticate human sources within the dictator-run nation.

When former President Joe Biden succeeded Trump, the North Korea mission attracted renewed scrutiny.

Biden’s Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered an unbiased investigation to be carried out by the lieutenant common in command of the Military inspector common’s workplace.

In 2021, the Biden administration briefed key members of Congress on the findings, a former authorities official mentioned, however the findings stay categorized, the outlet reported.

The investigation’s findings stay categorized.

The White Home and the US Navy didn’t reply to a request for remark from The Put up, whereas Pentagon representatives declined to remark.