Sat Sep 06 16:33:18 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
In 2019, a highly secretive Navy SEAL Team 6 mission into North Korea, personally approved by then-President Trump, was aborted after the SEALs encountered and killed three unarmed North Korean civilians on a fishing boat. The mission, intended to plant a spy device to intercept Kim Jong Un’s communications amid nuclear negotiations, failed, and its existence was kept secret from key congressional committees, potentially violating federal law. The incident was only recently revealed by a New York Times report, prompting an investigation by the Biden administration. Trump denies knowing anything about the mission.
**News Article:**
**Secret Navy SEAL Mission into North Korea Ends in Civilian Deaths, Cover-Up**
**WASHINGTON D.C. –** A highly classified Navy SEAL mission into North Korea in 2019, personally authorized by then-President Donald Trump, went awry, resulting in the deaths of three unarmed North Korean civilians and a subsequent cover-up, according to a bombshell report in the New York Times.
The mission, undertaken by the elite SEAL Team 6’s Red Squadron (the same unit that killed Osama Bin Laden), aimed to plant a covert surveillance device to intercept communications from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during sensitive nuclear negotiations. With human intelligence sources difficult to place in North Korea, the mission was considered a high-risk but potentially vital operation to gain insights into the regime’s intentions.
Sources told the New York Times that the SEALs, deploying from a US submarine in stealth mini-subs, encountered a North Korean fishing boat shortly after landing on the shore. Faced with the risk of exposure and unable to communicate with their command, the SEALs opened fire, killing the three individuals on board who were reportedly diving for shellfish. The bodies were then dragged into the water and their lungs punctured to ensure they would sink, the report states.
The mission was immediately aborted and the surveillance device was never planted. U.S. spy satellites detected a surge in North Korean military activity in the area following the incident, but it remains unclear if the North Koreans understood what occurred.
The revelations have ignited a firestorm in Washington, particularly because the mission was allegedly kept secret from key congressional intelligence committees, potentially violating federal law. When questioned about the mission, former President Trump claimed to have “no knowledge” of it, despite reports indicating he personally approved the operation.
The Biden administration reportedly launched an investigation into the 2019 incident in 2021 and subsequently briefed select members of Congress, but the findings remain classified.
The aborted mission and its aftermath raise serious questions about the ethical and legal boundaries of covert operations, the risks associated with relying on military solutions in sensitive diplomatic situations, and the level of transparency provided to Congress regarding national security matters. The revelations are likely to intensify scrutiny of the Trump administration’s foreign policy decisions and further complicate relations between the United States and North Korea.
First Piper 