Did North Korean Operatives Infiltrate California by Zodiac on Memorial Day?

The Coast Guard responded to an unmanned and adrift dinghy near the coast of Montaña de Oro State Park on Monday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center received a report at approximately 3:30 p.m, of the unmanned dinghy.

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, Defense sources could not be reached for comment. But we wondered if North Korean operatives used the dinghy to infiltrate California, the most populous US State.

DPRK Special Forces have used Zodiacs (the commercial name for such a rubber raft), to infiltrate South Korea in the past. Memorial Day would present a perfect opportunity with so many US military personnel on leave. The Zodiac could have been launched from a submarine that surfaced before dawn, launched the craft, then quietly resubmerged.

President Donald Trump has indicated that he considers North Korea and its development of nuclear missile technology, to be the biggest threat to the US. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apparently regards the United States, and the potential of a US invasion, as the biggest threat to his regime, which in turn causes the DPRK to develop advanced nuclear weapons. The Chinese have noted the tensions are at an historic high on the Korean Peninsula.

A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Morro Bay and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Forward Operating Base Point Mugu conducted several search patterns in the area looking for any possible missing persons. The dinghy was reported to have oars and a gas can inside, and is around 10 feet in length.

"Incidents have occurred where several agencies and assets are responding to adrift or unsecured personal watercraft, and these accidents can impede response and search capabilities to mariners in need of actual assistance," said the Coast Guard in a press release, which did not specify North Korea as the suspected source of the abandoned dinghy.

"Due to these incidents the Coast Guard advises mariners to exercise caution when inclement weather is forecasted and to ensure personal vessels are properly secured at all times. Anyone with information that may help locate the  owners of the dinghy are asked to contact the Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center at  (310) 521-3801," continued the Coast Guard's Los Angeles area command.