Unit 684

Unit 684 was an elite South Korean "black op" team whose mission was to kill the North Korean president.

The unit was set up by the Chief of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) on the orders of President Park Chung-hee. The Defense Ministry said the unit in question is a detachment of the ROK Air Force’s Squadron 2325, which recruited 31 civilians for special missions on April 1, 1968. The number of the unit, 684, stands for April 1968 when the unit was founded. The members were trained harshly on the remote, deserted island of Silmido Island in the Yellow Sea, off the coast of Inchon.

Mimicking North Korea's Unit 124, Unit 684 was made up of 31 trainees and the unit's purpose was to assassinate the then-leader of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung. The trainees were put through training at Silmido, where seven of them died. After about three years of rigorous training, Unit 684's mission was terminated. The Korean governments were now looking towards a peaceful reunification.

In August 1971, the unit members rose to kill their overseers and made their way to Chong Wa Dae in a rebellion. Most of them, however, committed suicide with hand grenades when confronted by government troops before they could cross the Han River.

The story of the unit is loosely told by the Korean movie "Silmido".

References

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060513162442/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200402/kt2004020617442611960.htm The Korea Times: Military Admits 'Silmido Unit' for First Time]
* [http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=100274 MilitaryPhotos.net] pictures and tales from the event.
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE3DF163DF936A25751C0A9629C8B63 New York Times] "South Korean Movie Unlocks Door on a Once-Secret Past", February 2004
* [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=230972&fuseaction=topics.publications&doc_id=474527&group_id=474507 NKIDP: Crisis and Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula: 1968-1969, A Critical Oral History]