A shocking new New York Times report has now shown light on one of the most shocking SEAL raids of recent times.
On a frigid night in early 2019, a team of Navy SEALs crept ashore on the coast of North Korea under orders that had come directly from President Donald J. Trump.
The operation was one of the most daring in recent memory: plant an electronic device capable of intercepting the communications of Kim Jong-un, the reclusive dictator pursuing nuclear weapons while negotiating face-to-face with the American president.
The mission carried extraordinary risk. Success promised the United States a rare stream of intelligence from one of the world’s most closed regimes. Failure could have led to a hostage crisis or even a military escalation with a nuclear-armed adversary.
For the task, the Pentagon turned to SEAL Team 6’s Red Squadron — the same elite unit that killed Osama bin Laden. After months of rehearsals, the SEALs set out from the sea in black wet suits and night-vision goggles. But when they reached the shore, a North Korean patrol boat emerged.
Fearing discovery, the SEALs opened fire. Within moments, everyone aboard the boat was dead. The commandos retreated into the sea without planting the device.
The mission, never publicly acknowledged, was so sensitive that top lawmakers were not briefed before or after. Some officials now say the secrecy may have skirted legal requirements. The White House declined to comment.
The account, based on interviews with two dozen current and former officials, underscores the extraordinary measures the United States has taken to monitor Pyongyang. “If the public only sees successes like the bin Laden raid,” one official said, “they don’t understand the risks that our forces take.”
The timing was crucial. In 2018, Kim had suspended missile tests and entered unprecedented talks with President Trump. But Washington still had almost no insight into the dictator’s intentions. U.S. intelligence officials told the White House that a newly developed device could help close the gap — if it could be installed inside North Korea.
Even for SEAL Team 6, the assignment was daunting. Members would have to survive for hours in freezing seas, evade detection onshore, complete a technical installation, and exfiltrate without alerting the regime. Pentagon leaders warned that even the smallest confrontation could provoke retaliation from the roughly 8,000 artillery pieces aimed at Seoul, not to mention missiles capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Still, confidence in the team ran high. In 2005, SEALs had reportedly managed to infiltrate and exfiltrate North Korea without incident, using a mini-submarine.
That earlier success encouraged commanders to move forward. By fall 2018, while negotiations with Kim were underway, Mr. Trump gave his approval for preparations to begin.
The plan called for a nuclear-powered submarine to deploy the SEALs in two mini-subs, each about the size of a killer whale, which would silently motor to shore.
The 2019 mission, though ultimately aborted, reflects a broader reality: despite decades of diplomacy, sanctions, and deterrence, American presidents have struggled to penetrate North Korea’s inner circle.
Today, the regime is believed to possess roughly 50 nuclear weapons, with Kim vowing to expand his arsenal “exponentially.”
For Trump, the SEAL operation was part of a larger effort to gain leverage where his predecessors had failed. The risks were immense. But in a presidency defined by unconventional diplomacy and an insistence on American strength, the mission reflected Trump’s willingness to take bold action in the pursuit of security.
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