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Shot Dead In A Submarine –The Nerve-Wracking Story Of N.Korean Commandos & Their Failed Espionage

On September 18, 1996, North Korea’s covert espionage wing, the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), launched a bold but ill-fated intelligence mission that ended in a dramatic manhunt across South Korea. 

The RGB dispatched a Sang-O (Shark) class mini-submarine, staffed by 26 operatives, on a high-stakes mission to gather intelligence off the South Korean coast.

The mission, however, turned into a disastrous event when a taxi driver spotted an abandoned North Korean submarine off Gangneung’s coast and saw a group of men by the highway. His tip led to a massive manhunt involving 40,000 South Korean troops, including the elite airborne rangers.

The story begins on the morning of September 14, 1996. Under the command of Captain Chong Yong-ku, the 34-meter-long North Korean submarine slipped out of its base in Toejo Dong.

Normally operated by a crew of 15, this mission included additional personnel: three elite operatives from the Reconnaissance General Bureau and Col. Kim Dong-won, a high-ranking officer overseeing maritime intelligence operations.

The submarine’s mission was straightforward but risky: conduct reconnaissance on South Korean military bases near Gangneung, a strategic area approximately 90 miles south of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

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Before departing, every crew member pledged not to return without completing their mission.

On September 15, the submarine quietly positioned itself a few hundred meters off Gangneung’s coast. Around 9 p.m., the elite operatives, equipped with scuba gear, swam ashore with the help of two divers who then returned to the submarine.

While the operatives pursued their reconnaissance mission inland, the submarine continued along the coastline, capturing photographs of South Korean military installations.

The operatives achieved their objective, successfully gathering valuable intelligence, including photographs of a South Korean airbase and its surroundings. However, when the submarine returned the next evening to extract the operatives, it failed to do so due to unforeseen complications.

A second attempt to recover the spies on the night of September 17 proved disastrous. The submarine ran aground on a rocky reef just 20 meters off An-in Beach. With its propeller tangled in seaweed, the vessel was immobilized.

After frantic efforts to free the submarine failed, Captain Chong decided to abandon the ship. Near midnight, the crew set the vessel’s interior ablaze before making their escape.

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How A Taxi Driver’s Suspicion Sparked A Major Alert 

On the night of September 18, 1996, Lee Jin-kyu, a taxi driver in Gangneung City, Gangwon Province, South Korea, was finishing a late shift. As he drove near the shores of Aninjin-ri in Gangdong-myeon, he noticed a group of men with short hair sitting along the roadside.

After dropping off a passenger, Lee revisited the area but found the men had vanished. He parked his taxi and walked to the coast, where he saw an unfamiliar vessel floating on the water, which did not resemble a fishing boat.

Approximately 25 minutes after Lee reported his sighting to the local police at around 2:00 a.m., an ROK (Republic of Korea) Army sentry from the 68th Division, patrolling the same area, also noticed something suspicious and alerted his superiors.

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