An exclusive report from the New York Times today has revealed details of a previously undisclosed failed top-secret mission conducted by the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six against North Korea in 2019, under direct orders from President Donald J. Trump. The operation’s objective was reportedly to install surveillance equipment capable of intercepting communications from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during ongoing high-level nuclear negotiations with the United States.

According to the report, SEALs infiltrated North Korean waters in February 2019, deploying from a nuclear-powered submarine aboard several mini-subs around midnight. Equipped with black wetsuits and night-vision goggles, they landed on shore before being confronted by a boat approaching out of the darkness, its flashlights sweeping the coastline. Believing their cover had been blown, the SEALs opened fire, killing all onboard—later discovered to be North Korean fishermen. The team then withdrew to their mini-sub, aborting the mission and declaring it a failure.

The Times also disclosed limited information about an earlier covert U.S. Navy operation inside North Korea in 2005. In that mission, SEALs once again used a mini-sub to go ashore for a still-unknown objective, successfully completing their task and departing undetected. The 2005 operation was reportedly carried out under the orders of President George W. Bush.