US Navy SEALs 'Slaughtered' Civilians During Botched 2019 North Korea Mission
Congress was reportedly never informed about the covert attempt by the first Trump administration to plant a listening device in North Korea during high-stakes nuclear negotiations.
US Navy SEALs are seen training in this undated photograph.
(Photo by US Navy/cc)
Brett Wilkins
Sep 05, 2025
Congress was reportedly never informed about the covert attempt by the first Trump administration to plant a listening device in North Korea during high-stakes nuclear negotiations.
US Navy SEALs are seen training in this undated photograph.
(Photo by US Navy/cc)
Brett Wilkins
Sep 05, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
US Navy SEALs shot dead a number of civilians during a botched secret mission to plant a listening device inside North Korea during tense nuclear negotiations between the first Trump administration and the government of Kim Jong Un in 2019, The New York Times reported Friday.
Dave Philipps and Matthew Cole reported for the Times that President Donald Trump personally approved the covert operation, which was tasked to SEAL Team 6's Red Squadron, the same unit that assassinated Osama bin Laden. Although the elite sailors rehearsed the nighttime mission for months, things fell apart when a small fishing boat appeared out of the dark in what the SEALs thought was a deserted area.
"Flashlights from the bow swept over the water. Fearing that they had been spotted, the SEALs opened fire," wrote Philipps and Cole. "Within seconds, everyone on the North Korean boat was dead. The SEALs retreated into the sea without planting the listening device."
Officials familiar with the mission told the Times that the SEALs then pulled two or three bodies from the boat, punctured the victims' lungs with knives so their bodies would sink, and threw the dead fishers into the sea.
According to the Times:
The 2019 operation has never been publicly acknowledged, or even hinted at, by the United States or North Korea. The details remain classified and are being reported here for the first time. The Trump administration did not notify key members of Congress who oversee intelligence operations, before or after the mission. The lack of notification may have violated the law...
US Navy SEALs shot dead a number of civilians during a botched secret mission to plant a listening device inside North Korea during tense nuclear negotiations between the first Trump administration and the government of Kim Jong Un in 2019, The New York Times reported Friday.
Dave Philipps and Matthew Cole reported for the Times that President Donald Trump personally approved the covert operation, which was tasked to SEAL Team 6's Red Squadron, the same unit that assassinated Osama bin Laden. Although the elite sailors rehearsed the nighttime mission for months, things fell apart when a small fishing boat appeared out of the dark in what the SEALs thought was a deserted area.
"Flashlights from the bow swept over the water. Fearing that they had been spotted, the SEALs opened fire," wrote Philipps and Cole. "Within seconds, everyone on the North Korean boat was dead. The SEALs retreated into the sea without planting the listening device."
Officials familiar with the mission told the Times that the SEALs then pulled two or three bodies from the boat, punctured the victims' lungs with knives so their bodies would sink, and threw the dead fishers into the sea.
According to the Times:
The 2019 operation has never been publicly acknowledged, or even hinted at, by the United States or North Korea. The details remain classified and are being reported here for the first time. The Trump administration did not notify key members of Congress who oversee intelligence operations, before or after the mission. The lack of notification may have violated the law...
The aborted SEAL mission prompted a series of military reviews during Mr. Trump's first term. They found that the killing of civilians was justified under the rules of engagement, and that the mission was undone by a collision of unfortunate occurrences that could not have been foreseen or avoided. The findings were classified.
It is not known whether or how much North Korea's government knew about the mission. While Trump's erstwhile untried tactic of direct negotiations with Kim averted escalation of the 2018-19 standoff, the high-profile summits between the two leaders yielded no substantial progress toward denuclearization or a peace treaty.
The US and North Korea are technically still at war. Between 1950-53 US forces killed an estimated 20% of all North Koreans—around 1.9 million men, women, and children—according to Gen. Curtis "Bombs Away" LeMay, who served as strategic air commander during the war after overseeing World War II firebombing raids on Japanese cities that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.
It is not known whether or how much North Korea's government knew about the mission. While Trump's erstwhile untried tactic of direct negotiations with Kim averted escalation of the 2018-19 standoff, the high-profile summits between the two leaders yielded no substantial progress toward denuclearization or a peace treaty.
The US and North Korea are technically still at war. Between 1950-53 US forces killed an estimated 20% of all North Koreans—around 1.9 million men, women, and children—according to Gen. Curtis "Bombs Away" LeMay, who served as strategic air commander during the war after overseeing World War II firebombing raids on Japanese cities that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.
September 6, 2025
US military personnel train in Coronado, California, US in this file photo from August 2023. — Reuters
Elite United States Navy SEALs launched an audacious operation in 2019 to plant a listening device in North Korea to spy on the country’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong Un, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Friday, but the mission quickly unravelled and culminated in the deaths of multiple civilians.
The operation came in the first administration of US President Donald Trump during sensitive nuclear talks with Kim, whom the US leader met three times.
The mission was considered so risky that it required direct presidential approval, the NYT said, but Trump insisted on Friday he had no knowledge of the operation.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m hearing it now for the first time,” the president told journalists.
Despite months of practice, the mission still went horribly wrong, the * NYT* reported.
The SEALs — from the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 — approached North Korea in mini-submarines that exposed them to frigid water for hours, then swam ashore, according to the newspaper, which interviewed two dozen people to piece together the account.
The special forces personnel thought they were alone, but didn’t see a small boat in the area. The boat later approached the mini-subs, with the crew carrying flashlights. One person jumped into the water.
Thinking the mission was compromised, the senior enlisted SEAL ashore opened fire on the boat, as did the others with him. When they reached the boat, they found two or three bodies, but no guns or uniforms: the dead were apparently civilians who were diving for shellfish.
The SEALs used knives to puncture the lungs of the boat’s crew so the bodies would sink, and were able to escape unharmed.
The NYT said the operation prompted a series of military reviews that found the killings were justified. The results of the reviews were classified, and key congressional leaders were kept in the dark.
While the failed mission did not create a major international crisis, it easily could have, and the incident highlights both the impunity and secrecy under which America’s elite forces operate around the globe.
Elite United States Navy SEALs launched an audacious operation in 2019 to plant a listening device in North Korea to spy on the country’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong Un, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Friday, but the mission quickly unravelled and culminated in the deaths of multiple civilians.
The operation came in the first administration of US President Donald Trump during sensitive nuclear talks with Kim, whom the US leader met three times.
The mission was considered so risky that it required direct presidential approval, the NYT said, but Trump insisted on Friday he had no knowledge of the operation.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m hearing it now for the first time,” the president told journalists.
Despite months of practice, the mission still went horribly wrong, the * NYT* reported.
The SEALs — from the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 — approached North Korea in mini-submarines that exposed them to frigid water for hours, then swam ashore, according to the newspaper, which interviewed two dozen people to piece together the account.
The special forces personnel thought they were alone, but didn’t see a small boat in the area. The boat later approached the mini-subs, with the crew carrying flashlights. One person jumped into the water.
Thinking the mission was compromised, the senior enlisted SEAL ashore opened fire on the boat, as did the others with him. When they reached the boat, they found two or three bodies, but no guns or uniforms: the dead were apparently civilians who were diving for shellfish.
The SEALs used knives to puncture the lungs of the boat’s crew so the bodies would sink, and were able to escape unharmed.
The NYT said the operation prompted a series of military reviews that found the killings were justified. The results of the reviews were classified, and key congressional leaders were kept in the dark.
While the failed mission did not create a major international crisis, it easily could have, and the incident highlights both the impunity and secrecy under which America’s elite forces operate around the globe.
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