--- title: "This failed assassin was North Korean special forces’ ‘Lone Survivor’" description: "The North Koreans trained an elite group of 31 special ops commandos to infiltrate the South and assassinate the South Korean president." date: "2022-05-07" modified: "2022-05-07" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/failed-assassin-north-korea/" categories: - "History" - "Special Operations" - "Tactical" tags: - "North Korea" - "Special Operations" --- # This failed assassin was North Korean special forces’ ‘Lone Survivor’ ![]() The year was 1968, one of the most tumultuous years in American military history. The North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive and North Korea captured the American spy ship Pueblo outside its territorial waters. Riding high on his "victory" over the United States, Kim Il Sung and the North Korean military mounted its most daring provocation to date. --- ![]() *Kim Il-Sung was a pretty big a-hole.* ### Read Now: [I went to North Korea and saw the captured ship USS Liberty ]() They were going to [assassinate South Korea's president]() at his home. The North Koreans trained an elite group of 31 special operations commandos to infiltrate the South across the demilitarized zone. They were led by Kim Shin-jo, a proud revolutionary who was ready to liberate the south from the heel of American occupation. "We thought the president there was a stooge, an American collaborator," Kim told [the LA Times in a 2010 interview](). "I hated him." ![]() *Kim shin-jo, after his capture. (Wikimedia Commons)* He formed the 124th Special Forces unit. Their goal was to make it to the Blue House, South Korea's version of the White House, where President Park Chung-hee lived and worked. They were then to take photos [to prove he was dead](). They broke into teams of six, dressed as South Korean troops, and crossed the border through barbed wire, observation posts, and minefields. They traversed the steep mountains and deep valleys only to immediately run into South Koreans near the DMZ. Instead of killing their Southern cousins, Kim and the elite unit warned them not to give away their presence and sent the Southerners on their way. Of course, the South Koreans immediately told the authorities. The South Korean military launched a massive search for the commandos. Within 200 yards of their objective, one South Korean soldier halted them to check their IDs. The North Koreans unloaded on the unprepared South Koreans — like an ISIS offensive 200 yards from the White House. ![]() *So maybe 100% ID check isn't as annoying as we thought.* They killed 35 and wounded another 64 people. Kim Shin-jo took cover near the woods, and never even fired his weapon. He wasn't interested in killing civilians — he wanted Park Chung-hee. He never got the chance. All but two of the 124th Special Forces were killed. One of them managed to evade capture, eventually returning home across the border. Kim was captured. He was shown on television in handcuffs for all of South Korea to see. ![]() Kim was interrogated for months and eventually broke down, seeing the South Korean military's compassion through a high-ranking officer, who convinced him the fight was between them and the North Korean regime, not the North Korean people. Since he had not fired his weapon, Kim was [forgiven for the actions of his comrades](). Eventually, Kim gave his services (and information) to the military, became a citizen, and married a South Korean. For this, the North Korean regime executed his immediate family, and — as is customary in the North — sent three generations of relatives to its Siberian prison camps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8hAUW6-n14 Kim Shin-jo was reborn in many ways: he renounced his Communist upbringing and became a born-again Presbyterian minister. He leads a church of 70,000 outside of Seoul, one of the largest congregations in the world, right under the [shadow of North Korean artillery](). ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()