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North Korea
USS PUEBLO (today)
USS PUEBLO (today)
USS PUEBLO in Pyongyang November 1999
(It was widely rumored at the time that a Polish sea going tug or
a different tug with a Polish crew provided the tow.)
Phototograph taken by Joseph O'Brien
(It was widely rumored at the time that a Polish sea going tug or
a different tug with a Polish crew provided the tow.)
Phototograph taken by Joseph O'Brien
USS Pueblo in Wonson Harbor October 1994
Extracted from David Franken's Home Page.
Photograph taken by Bill Holdsworth
Extracted from David Franken's Home Page.
Photograph taken by Bill Holdsworth
Saturday October 15, 1994
I had spoken to Mr Kang yesterday in the car about the “Pueblo”, the 1968 US spy trawler captured off North Korea. He told me then that it was now a fishing boat - somewhere. This morning on the drive to the monument he tells us he will get permission for us to visit it. "You're joking, right?" "No. No joke" he says. And we walk from the monument to the docks where it is - there, as if on the day it was captured, festooned with aerials. There is a worn walkway to the stern, an armed young sailor with an AK47 stands at attention on the deck. Small circles of red paint mark the places where North Korean weapons fire damaged the superstructure. We were invited aboard by a captain who was a young sailor on the attack craft the night it was captured. He takes us on a tour, first stopping below deck where we watch a video - a very poor video with sound gaps, some tape damage and full of anti-imperialist rhetoric about the story of the voyage and the capture. The confessions and eventual release of the American prisoners are graphically told nonetheless. We visit the captain's bunk and the rooms, one of which has a small original metal plate inscribed "Crypto Room" above the door, full of electronic equipment, some marked “Top Secret”. Then to the deck, the guns still in working order, on to the bridge where Bill and I photograph each other at the wheel. We congratulate the captain and when Bill says "you must have been very proud of being part of the capture of the “Pueblo”,” his face lights up with a smile.
From David Franken's A North Korean Odyssey or
Strangers in a Strange Land.
I had spoken to Mr Kang yesterday in the car about the “Pueblo”, the 1968 US spy trawler captured off North Korea. He told me then that it was now a fishing boat - somewhere. This morning on the drive to the monument he tells us he will get permission for us to visit it. "You're joking, right?" "No. No joke" he says. And we walk from the monument to the docks where it is - there, as if on the day it was captured, festooned with aerials. There is a worn walkway to the stern, an armed young sailor with an AK47 stands at attention on the deck. Small circles of red paint mark the places where North Korean weapons fire damaged the superstructure. We were invited aboard by a captain who was a young sailor on the attack craft the night it was captured. He takes us on a tour, first stopping below deck where we watch a video - a very poor video with sound gaps, some tape damage and full of anti-imperialist rhetoric about the story of the voyage and the capture. The confessions and eventual release of the American prisoners are graphically told nonetheless. We visit the captain's bunk and the rooms, one of which has a small original metal plate inscribed "Crypto Room" above the door, full of electronic equipment, some marked “Top Secret”. Then to the deck, the guns still in working order, on to the bridge where Bill and I photograph each other at the wheel. We congratulate the captain and when Bill says "you must have been very proud of being part of the capture of the “Pueblo”,” his face lights up with a smile.
From David Franken's A North Korean Odyssey or
Strangers in a Strange Land.
A perspective
In the mid to late 1990s, during the Clinton Administration, the United States attempted to negotiate with North Korea. At the time, the Koreans were in the process of constructing a nuclear reactor. It would be capable of producing nuclear weapons grade plutonium. The US government entered an agreement that stated in essence, if the Koreans stopped work on the reactor the US, along with some EU nations, would provide them with a new light water reactor along with 500,000 tons per year of heavy fuel oil. The fuel oil to be used in the Korean oil fired power plants. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang, and met with Kim Jong Il. At some time during the course of these "negotiations" the North Koreans felt it would be a good time to move the USS PUEBLO from Wonsan on Korea's east coast to her present position on the Taedong River at Pyongyang, on the west coast. This was a voyage of over 1000 nautical miles, all in INTERNATIONAL WATERS. The US Navy observed this transit but took no action. Ultimately, the Koreans did as they always do in "negotiations," they agree to the terms, then they just renege! The Bush administration was next in line to learn the ways of North Korean "negotiating." Now the Obama administration is in office and is attempting to open a dialog with the North Koreans through the six party talks. The mission of the talks - to discuss the nuclear plant and their plutonium processing operation.
In the mid to late 1990s, during the Clinton Administration, the United States attempted to negotiate with North Korea. At the time, the Koreans were in the process of constructing a nuclear reactor. It would be capable of producing nuclear weapons grade plutonium. The US government entered an agreement that stated in essence, if the Koreans stopped work on the reactor the US, along with some EU nations, would provide them with a new light water reactor along with 500,000 tons per year of heavy fuel oil. The fuel oil to be used in the Korean oil fired power plants. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang, and met with Kim Jong Il. At some time during the course of these "negotiations" the North Koreans felt it would be a good time to move the USS PUEBLO from Wonsan on Korea's east coast to her present position on the Taedong River at Pyongyang, on the west coast. This was a voyage of over 1000 nautical miles, all in INTERNATIONAL WATERS. The US Navy observed this transit but took no action. Ultimately, the Koreans did as they always do in "negotiations," they agree to the terms, then they just renege! The Bush administration was next in line to learn the ways of North Korean "negotiating." Now the Obama administration is in office and is attempting to open a dialog with the North Koreans through the six party talks. The mission of the talks - to discuss the nuclear plant and their plutonium processing operation.
CNN Mike Chinoy's original video report on PUEBLO
This is in Wonsan on the East coast of North Korea in 1995
This is in Wonsan on the East coast of North Korea in 1995
Please remember:
USS PUEBLO (AGER-2) remains a commissioned ship of the United States Navy
USS PUEBLO (AGER-2) remains a commissioned ship of the United States Navy
Editor's note: We have never been able to obtain information from former Clinton Administration officials on the transfer of USS PUEBLO from Wonsan to Pyongyang.
North Korean postage stamp
This stamp is targeted at foreign tourists.
(Thanks Stu Russell)
This stamp is targeted at foreign tourists.
(Thanks Stu Russell)
Before playing the video, PLEASE READ this:
This film is the North Korean version of the "PUEBLO Incident."
The image above is a frame from the North Korean "International" press conference held at the Farm POW camp in September 1968. The man in the frame above is, supposedly, US citizen Lionel Martin, a reporter from the New York Guardian newspaper. Do you know of this man, or any of his work? We would like to hear from you.
The DVD is sold by the North Koreans at the site of USS PUEBLO now on the Taedong River, Pyongyang, North Korea. That is on the West coast of North Korea.
This film is the North Korean version of the "PUEBLO Incident."
The image above is a frame from the North Korean "International" press conference held at the Farm POW camp in September 1968. The man in the frame above is, supposedly, US citizen Lionel Martin, a reporter from the New York Guardian newspaper. Do you know of this man, or any of his work? We would like to hear from you.
The DVD is sold by the North Koreans at the site of USS PUEBLO now on the Taedong River, Pyongyang, North Korea. That is on the West coast of North Korea.
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