US Navy Seals shot and killed a number of North Korean civilians during a botched covert mission to plant a listening device in the nuclear-armed country during high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in 2019, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Citing unidentified sources, including current and former military officials with knowledge of the still-classified details, the newspaper said Donald Trump approved the operation during his first administration, as he was involved in historic talks with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
The plan was designed to fix a “blind spot” in US intelligence that would allow the US to intercept the North Korean leader’s communications, potentially giving Trump an advantage ahead of the summit between the two leaders in 2019.
But it unraveled when the detachment of Navy Seals came across North Korean civilians who appeared to be diving for shellfish, the Times reported. The American forces opened fire, killing all those on the small fishing vessel, the report said, without specifying the number of casualties.
Neither the US nor the North Korean government has made the botched operation public. Before approving the plan, the White House had been concerned that even a small military action against North Korea could provoke a “catastrophic retaliation”.
A classified Pentagon review later concluded the killings were justified under the rules of engagement, the report said.
In 2019, the Seals were dispatched to North Korean waters in a nuclear-powered submarine, and then deployed in two mini-subs in frigid waters to reach the shore. A group of eight Seals were then supposed to sneak past North Korean border forces, install the device, and then escape undetected. However, the operation was disrupted by the attack on the civilians, and the Seals left without installing the device.
The newspaper also revealed that the plan was based on a similar 2005 operation approved by George W Bush.
The White House, the Pentagon and the US embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Since Trump’s last summit with Kim in 2019, talks have fallen apart and North Korea has forged ahead with its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.
Trump this week said that US forces had killed 11 people in a strike on a boat in international waters that he claimed was carrying drugs to the United States. The White House has released few details about the operation, which it claimed targeted members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
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