The
Blue House Raid was an attempt by the North Korean government to assassinate the South Korean President
Park Chung-hee on 21 January 1968
The Plot
Preparations
The North Koreans specially selected and trained thirty-one men handpicked from the infamous
Unit 124 of the
Korean People's Army. This special operation commando unit trained for two years and spent their final 15 days rehearsing action on the objective in a full-scale mock up of the Blue House. These specially selected men were the best that the North Korean Army had to offer. They were trained in infiltration and ex-filtration techniques, weaponry, navigation, airborne operations, amphibious infiltration, hand-to-hand combat with emphasis on knife fighting, and concealment. One of their concealment techniques was to dig into graves and sleep with the bones and dead bodies. As
Kim Shin-Jo, the only surviving commando stated, “It made us fearless—no one would think to look for us in a graveyard.” They ran up mountains at eight miles an hour with sixty-six pound rucks in broken, unforgiving country. Their training was conducted in adverse weather conditions—even in the winter where some lost toes and feet from frost bite! I served three tours in Korea and have seen the weather easily drop to thirty degrees below zero.
The assassination
On 17 January 1968, the North Koreans infiltrated through the DMZ by cutting through the fencing of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division sector. After two days where they remained undetected, the group unexpectedly encountered four South Korean civilians out cutting wood on 19 January. After spending several hours trying to convince the civilians of the benefits of communism, the commandos let the civilians free with a stern warning not to notify the police. However, the civilians informed the police that very night.
The commandos entered Seoul in two- and three-man cells on 20 January and noticed the increased security measures that had been implemented throughout the city. Realizing their original plan had little chance of success, the team leader improvised a new plan. Changing into Republic of Korea (ROK) Army uniforms of the local 26th Infantry Division, complete with the correct unit insignia, which they had brought with them, they formed up and prepared to march the last mile to the Blue House, posing as ROK Army soldiers returning from a counter infiltration patrol. The unit marched toward the Blue House, passing several National Police and ROK Army units en route.
Approximately 800 meters from the Blue House, a police contingent finally halted the unit and began to question them. The nervous North Koreans fumbled their replies, and when one suspicious policeman drew his pistol, a commando shot and killed him. A melee then ensued in which two infiltrators died. The rest of the commandos scattered and began racing for the DMZ.
For the next several days, South Korean and American soldiers and police cooperated in a massive manhunt. Three infiltrators were pursued and killed in the Seoul area, while 25 others were eventually hunted down and killed in various firefights, with one infiltrator being captured. Only two of the thirty-one fighters could not be accounted for. During the course of this assassination attempt, South Korean casualties totaled 68 killed and 66 wounded — mainly army and police but also about two dozen civilians. Three Americans also died and three were wounded in attempts to block the escaping infiltrators. Of thirty commandos, all but Kim Shin-Jo were killed.
Aftermath
Three days later, January 23, the
USS Pueblo was captured by North Korea.
In response to the assassination attempt, the South Korean government reportedly organized the ill-fated Unit 684. This group was intended to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung, but was disbanded in 1971.
References
See also
Assassination of Park Chung-hee
Unit 684
External links
"A Continuous Nightmare": detailed description of event.
North Korean Monitor
North Korea: A New Belligerence
The Forgotten DMZ
Category:1968 in South Korea
Category:History of South Korea
Category:Assassination attempts
