The team of Navy SEALS behind the death of Osama bin Laden are allegedly plotting to remove Kim Jong-un from power, it has been revealed.
According to the US Ministry of National Defense, they are due to take part in drills to ‘incapacitate’ the North Korean leader.
The exercises will take place in South Korea and it is in preparation for if conflict breaks out on the Korean Peninsula.
The SEAL Team 6, also known as the Special Warfare Development Group, killed the Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan in May 2011, and are being prepared for action once again, according to MailOnline.
Pyongyang has vowed a tough response to any military action from the US after it sent warships to waters in the region.
Washington has dispatched the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its battle group to the area for US-South Korea wargames.
Tensions on the divided peninsula were already high because of recent ballistic missile launches by North Korea.
Pyongyang sees the annual wargames as a dress rehearsal for invasion, while the North’s missile launches violate UN resolutions.
‘We will hold the US wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions,’ a spokesman for North Korea’s foreign ministry said.
The North has long claimed the US is preparing some kind of assault against it and justifies its nuclear weapons as defensive in nature.
‘This goes to prove that the US reckless moves for invading the DPRK have reached a serious phase of its scenario,’ the North’s statement said.
‘If the US dares opt for a military action, crying out for ‘pre-emptive attack’ and ‘removal of the headquarters,’ the DPRK is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the US.’
North Korea’s formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
US navy ships are a common presence in the Korean region and are in part a show of force.
On Saturday, the Pentagon said a navy carrier strike group was moving towards the western Pacific Ocean to provide more of a physical presence in the region.