South Korean 707th Special Mission Battalion - Blue House Raid Defence, 1968

"31 North Korean assassins infiltrated Seoul to kill the president. Most died fighting South Korea's secret defenders."

STORY: January 1968. 31 North Korean commandos from Unit 124 infiltrated South Korea with one mission: assassinate President Park Chung-hee at the Blue House. They got within 100 meters of his residence before being detected. Seoul erupted in urban warfare. The newly-formed 707th Special Mission Battalion responded. For three days, they hunted the infiltrators through the city. The North Koreans were trained identically to the 707th, creating a deadly cat-and-mouse game between mirror units. Firefights erupted in residential neighbourhoods. One North Korean, trapped in a building, killed three 707th operators before being neutralized. Another fought for five hours before running out of ammunition. Of the 31 infiltrators, 29 were killed, one captured, and one escaped back to North Korea. The 707th lost eight operators but saved the president. The incident convinced South Korea to expand their special forces dramatically.