Home > National > North Korea

North remains silent on NYT report of 2019 secret U.S. SEAL mission against its regime

Published: 07 Sep. 2025, 12:40

The U.S. Navy warship USS Sampson docks at the Amador International Cruise Terminal in Panama City on Aug. 30. [AFP/YONHAP]

North Korea on Saturday remained silent on a recent report that United States Navy special operations forces infiltrated North Korea in early 2019 to install a device aimed at intercepting leader Kim Jong-un's communications.

A day earlier, the New York Times reported that the classified mission by Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) Team 6 — the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden — took place while Pyongyang was engaging in high-level nuclear talks with the Donald Trump administration during its first term.

The report said the mission was unsuccessful after U.S. forces encountered North Koreans aboard a civilian boat, whom they reportedly killed.

As of 6 p.m. on Saturday, about a day after the report, neither North Korean state media nor the country's foreign ministry had issued a response to the news.

Experts said acknowledgment by North Korea of the U.S. infiltration would be tantamount to admitting failures in border security and protection of nationals, suggesting this could explain the regime's silence.

Yonhap