What Happened in 2019: A Secret Infiltration Gone Wrong
According to an investigative report by The New York Times, in early 2019, during Donald Trump’s first term, SEAL Team 6 (officially known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU) launched a covert mission on North Korean soil.
The team attempted to install surveillance equipment along the North Korean coast to intercept communications from Kim Jong-un’s regime. Inserted from a submarine using mini-submersibles, the operators landed undetected but encountered a small boat of local fishermen, whom they mistook for North Korean security forces. They opened fire, killing two to three civilians.
The bodies were reportedly weighted and sunk to avoid detection. The mission was aborted, and the listening devices were never installed. Some SEALs involved were even promoted afterward. Crucially, the mission was never reported to the US Congress, raising questions about violations of the War Powers Resolution (a law requiring Congressional oversight of military actions). North Korea has never officially acknowledged the incident.
Sources: The Daily Beast, New York Post
Reactions on Reddit
Getting out undetected was vital. In Mr. Trump’s first term, top leaders in the Pentagon believed that even a small military action against North Korea could provoke catastrophic retaliation from an adversary with roughly 8,000 artillery pieces and rocket launchers aimed at the approximately 28,000 American troops in South Korea, and nuclear-capable missiles that could reach the United States.
Glad Trump is looking out for the small guys! /s
“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.”
May have… 🙄
Man, if they went back to doing that level of illegal things I’d freaking throw a parade! What they do now is so over the top this would be a breath of fresh air!
To be fair, they’re almost certainly still doing that level of illegal things as well
That level of illegal… without even bothering to send an FYI to the only co-equal branch of government… it sorta sounds to an outsider like the U.S. has become a rogue state.
Maybe I’m being a bit naive here, but this article concerns me greatly. This is less than 10 years old, and the same leaders of both countries are in office. This was a direct military action against North Korea which involved enemies on their shore and killing their civilians. And there’s the casual mention of another successful mission in 2005.
If the roles were reversed, we’d have two CSGs parked offshore with air strikes ongoing. I’m concerned this leaked. This is incredibly classified stuff. I’m concerned the NYT published it now. And I’m concerned how North Korea will take this news if they didn’t already know.
North Korea isn’t going to war against nuclear power just because the US killed a couple of civilians… This isn’t the first group of civilians the US has randomly murdered and it won’t be the last.
It’s not about Trump. This op and ones just like it have been going on under every administration. The fascist pigs behind it must be brought to justice.
Because people have a right to know when their government is murdering random civilians.
It’s as if the only thing the SEALs took away from Red Wings/Lone Survivor was “those guys should have killed those shepherds.”
Why Did the US and North Korea Stay Silent for Six Years?
Washington’s Reasons
Avoiding Diplomatic Fallout
In 2019, the Trump administration was staging historic summits with Kim Jong-un in Singapore and Hanoi. If the covert mission had been exposed at the time, it would have shattered the credibility of Trump’s “peace through negotiation” narrative and embarrassed US allies like South Korea and Japan.
Bypassing Congress
The War Powers Resolution requires that Congress—at least the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” leadership—be informed of major covert operations. This mission was never disclosed. Exposure would have triggered a political firestorm, accusations of abuse of presidential power, and even strengthened impeachment arguments against Trump.
Protecting Military Prestige
SEAL Team 6 is an elite symbol of American power. Admitting that the unit killed civilians and failed its mission would have undermined its reputation and morale. The Pentagon had every incentive to bury the incident.
Pyongyang’s Reasons
Hiding Security Weaknesses
For a regime that claims absolute control over its borders, admitting that US forces penetrated North Korean territory would have been humiliating. Silence preserved the illusion of invulnerability.
Keeping a Diplomatic Card
If Kim Jong-un’s government knew about the incident, it may have chosen to keep it secret as a bargaining chip—something to use in future negotiations if Washington pressed too hard.
Possibly Unaware
It remains unclear if North Korean authorities even discovered the truth. With the bodies disposed of at sea, missing fishermen may have been dismissed as accidents.
A “Tacit Pact of Silence”
Both sides stood to lose from disclosure. For the US, exposure meant legal and political fallout; for North Korea, exposure meant humiliation. Mutual silence served both.
What Was the Purpose of the Operation?
- Intercepting Communications: North Korea’s closed networks are notoriously hard to penetrate. Installing surveillance equipment was seen as the only way to collect reliable signals intelligence.
- Assessing Nuclear Progress: With negotiations underway, Washington wanted hard evidence of whether Pyongyang was still advancing its nuclear program.
- Demonstrating Deterrence: The ability of SEAL Team 6 to infiltrate North Korea itself would send a message: “You are not safe.”
- Psychological Pressure: Even whispers of US forces operating inside the country could sow paranoia within the regime’s inner circle.
Why Take Such a Risky Approach?
- Limits of Satellites: Reconnaissance satellites can monitor construction and troop movements but not real-time internal communications.
- Cyber Infeasibility: North Korea’s isolation from the global internet makes hacking almost impossible; physical infiltration was the only option.
- Human Factor: Special operations forces are designed to do what machines cannot—physically gather intelligence in denied areas.
- Negotiation Leverage: Concrete data from on-the-ground surveillance would give the US bargaining power in nuclear talks.
The US knowingly gambled on a high-risk, high-reward infiltration.
Conclusion: The Geopolitical Impact of the Revelation
This revelation is not just a tale of a failed operation—it reshapes how both sides are viewed.
- For Washington: It raises uncomfortable questions about unchecked presidential power and the Pentagon’s willingness to bury failures.
- For Pyongyang: It offers propaganda value (“The US kills civilians”) but also highlights its vulnerability.
- For US–North Korea Relations: The exposure deepens mistrust, making future negotiations even harder.
Ultimately, the 2019 mission illustrates both Washington’s desperation for intelligence and Pyongyang’s success at sealing itself off from the world. Six years of silence, followed by sudden exposure, underscores the fragility of the relationship between two nuclear powers.
Supplement: What Is SEAL Team 6?
- SEALs: The US Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, Land) are the Navy’s elite special operations force, active since the Vietnam War.
- SEAL Team 6: Officially DEVGRU, created during the Cold War as a counterterrorism unit. The number “6” was chosen to confuse the Soviets, suggesting more teams than actually existed. Today, it is the most elite of the SEALs, reserved for the highest-risk, most classified missions.
- Famous Operations: SEAL Team 6 carried out the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
