Brazen North Korea Submarine Operations Nearly Started World War III North Korea had lost two submarines in September 1996 and June 1998 while attempting to insert or exfiltrate Special Forces agents on espionage missions in South Korea. Here's What You Need To Remember: Yet again, North Korean spies had chosen to go down guns blazing rather than surrender. The incident of Yeosu also indicated how deeply naval infiltration and covert operations were integral to North Korean military and political doctrine. In 1998, South Korean president Kim Dae-jung came to power with a “Sunshine Policy” attempting to reconcile with North Korea. That policy included providing badly needed economic aid to relieve its northern neighbor as it recovered from a devastating famine. However, on the eve of a key peace conference in Panmunjom, a North Korean submarine on a spying mission got entangled in fishing nets and its crew committed suicide when South Korean ships began towing it back to port. Surely, given the overture and assistance provided by President Kim, the regime in Pyongyang would tamp down on its armed infiltration missions on South Korean soil?