A newly published account has revealed that in 2019, during a critical phase of nuclear negotiations with North Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump personally authorized a clandestine mission by SEAL Team 6 to infiltrate the North Korean coast and install surveillance devices aimed at monitoring the communications of leader Kim Jong Un.

The operation involved a nuclear-powered submarine and mini-subs to deliver the special operations team onto a remote beach at night in winter conditions.

Their task was to position sophisticated listening devices that could provide the United States with critical intelligence while talks with Pyongyang were underway.

Shortly after making landfall, the commandos were unexpectedly confronted by a small North Korean civilian boat.

Believing the mission had been compromised, the SEALs opened fire, killing those on board.

With the operation exposed, commanders ordered the mission aborted.

The team concealed the bodies and withdrew without completing their task.

North Korea subsequently increased security in the area but refrained from issuing a public statement.

The episode unfolded just before a scheduled summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, which went ahead but collapsed soon afterward.

Despite the mission’s failure, it underscored the extraordinary risks Washington was willing to undertake to secure actionable intelligence on Pyongyang’s leadership at a moment of heightened diplomatic tension.

The report adds a dramatic new dimension to the history of U.S.–North Korea relations, illustrating the intensity of intelligence operations during the Trump administration’s unprecedented direct engagement with the North Korean regime.