North Korean Special Operations Forces: 1996 Kangnung Submarine Infiltration

摘要

In September 1996, North Korean Special Operations Forces (SOF) infiltrated the South Korean eastern coast near the town of Kangnung. The North Koreans, numbering 26, abandoned their stranded submarine and rushed from the beach into the surrounding hills. What followed was a two-month bloody manhunt for the infiltrators that left all but two of the North Koreans dead. During the manhunt, 16 South Korean soldiers and civilians died and 27 were wounded. I was assigned to the J2, United States Forces, Korea (USFK) at the time and offer this account of the Communist North's submarine infiltration that went terribly wrong. The infiltration mission was one of collecting intelligence on the Republic of Korea (ROK). U.S. senior leaders have identified the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, also North Korea) as part of the "axis of evil" and a potential threat to national security. In fact, North Korea has been an ongoing threat to peace and stability in Northeast Asia for the past 50 years. The failed infiltration mission provides some insight into how the North Koreans might conduct wartime infiltrations and gives us a glimpse into the training and capabilities of their SOF.