ANNIVERSARY OF CAPTURE OF USS PUEBLO
40 years ago on the 23rd January 1968 sailors of the KPA Navy captured off Wonsan the US armed spy ship the "Pueblo" with its crew of 80. Rather than admit they committed an illegal act and had trespassed on the territory of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and infringed its sovereignty they tried to bluster that it was an "oceanographic survey ship" and it was on the open seas (in fact it had been a few miles from the east coast port of Wonsan) and they arrogantly demanded the ship and its crew back and threatened to bomb and invade the DPRK. This was not a rhetorical threat the US imperialists actually sent a nuclear powered aircraft carrier to the DPRK and preparations were made to bomb the DPRK.
The world watched. Who would back down,who would blink first. So called allies of the DPRK such as the former Soviet Union (heavily under the influence of modern revisionism )gave the DPRK little support and told the DPRK to give in and hand both the ship and crew back. However the great leader Marshal Kim Il Sung, an ever- victorious iron willed brilliant commander declared that they would not be intimidated,that they would return retaliation for retaliation,all out war for all out war. The crew themselves confessed to espionage putting them in a precarious position as under international law in a war time situation spies can be executed. Eventually the US imperialists had no choice but to back down . A letter of apology to the DPRK was sent. The "Pueblo" crew were duly returned but the ship was kept. Today it is moored on the River Taedong in central Pyongyang and serves a reminder to generations to come of the aggression and intrigue of US imperialism. Below are statements from the DPRK and AINDF on the anniversary of the "Pueblo" capture.
U.S. Forgets Pueblo Lesson
Pyongyang, January 23 (KCNA) -- Fourty years have passed since the U.S. armed spy ship Pueblo was seized by seamen of the Korean People's Army.
The Pueblo was captured on January 23, Juche 57 (1968) while spying on military and state secrets of the DPRK after intruding into its territorial waters in the East Sea of Korea up to 7.6 miles from Ryo Islet near Wonsan.
The U.S. imperialists, far from admitting their crime, reacted to this deserving punishment with a military threat to the DPRK, claiming that their ship was seized in the "open sea" and it did not commit an espionage act.
In face of the super stiff attitude of the DPRK determined to answer the "retaliation" of the enemy with retaliation and an all-out war with an all-out war, the U.S. administration was forced to sign a document solemnly apologizing for the espionage and hostile acts committed by its spy ship and giving assurances that it would not let any warship intrude into the territorial waters of the DPRK in the future.
However, even before the ink was dry on the paper of apology signed by them, the U.S. imperialists illegally sent their large-size spy plane EC-121 in April 1969 and spy helicoptor OAH-23G in August 1969 into the air space of the DPRK, which were brought down by the KPA while committing espionage and hostile acts.
But, after drinking the bitter cups of setback, they have continued committing espionage on the DPRK, including the incident of a reconnaissance helicopter in December 1994.
The U.S. bellicose forces have of late massed reconnaissance planes of different types in and around south Korea and lengthened their flying hours while beefing up the forces of electronic operation and information espionage.
U-2" high-altitude strategic reconnaissance planes of the U.S. forces in south Korea committed air surveillance, photographing and electronic reconnaissance on the whole area of the DPRK on more than 300 occasions and the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean army carried out aerial espionage on 2,250 occasions or more in total last year alone. @It is the temperament of the Korean people never to tolerate the encroachment upon the sovereignty of the nation. @If the United States heads for increased tension, persisting in espionage acts against the DPRK, they will be unable to evade the lot of the Pueblo.
US Must Not Forget the Lesson of History-Statement of the Pyongyang Mission of the Anti Imperialist Democractic Front of south Korea
In the stirring period when the 70 million compatriots are dynamically conducting the national reunification movement upholding the slogan °Let Us Open Up a New Era of Independent Reunification, Peace and Prosperity by Concerted Efforts of Our Nation!, we, seeing again the US armed spy ship ¡°Pueblo¡±, hardly repress the burning indignation toward the US, today, 40 years after its capture.
The Pueblo is historical evidence that demonstrated throughout the world the victory of the DPRK in the showdown with the US for defending the sovereignty and dignity of the nation. The US armed spy ship Pueblo intruded deep into the DPRK territorial waters to commit spy acts and seized by the valiant Korean navy force on January 23, 1968.
Facing the most shameful defeat in the US history that a US warship was captured by a foreign country, the White House ran amuck like a burnt calf.
Instead of admitting its criminal aggression act, the US committed aggression forces including the nuclear-powered aircraft-carrier Enterprise to the Korean East Sea off Wonsan and mobilized enormous aggression forces enough to carry out a full war near the Korean seas, clamoring for retaliation if north Korea does not set free the Pueblo at once, unhesitating in military intimidation and blackmailing moves against the DPRK.
With the anxiety for a breakout of the third world war in Korea , hundreds of millions of humankind were closely watching the situation of Korea and conscientious people were grinding their teeth before the military intimidation and blackmailing of the White House against Korea .
However, the solemn declaration of President Kim Il Sung that the Korean people and People¡¯s Army would retaliate for the retaliation of the US imperialists, return all-out war for all-out war, was a thunder and lighting that appalled the US imperialists and their followers, rendering an indefinite strength and courage to the progressives aspiring after independence.
President Kim Il Sung, the ever-victorious iron-willed brilliant commander, shattered once again the myth of the mightiness of US imperialism to smithereens in front of the whole world. The US could not but write an apology in which it pledged itself not to invade the Korean territorial waters again, and kneel down.
The Pueblo exhibited on the bank of the River Daedong where the monument to the sinking of the US pirate ship Sherman which was destroyed after invading Korea 140-odd years ago, attests that the history of the US aggression of Korea is very long and obstinate, and the US has suffered shameful defeat every time in the DPRK-US confrontation.
The Pueblo incident reminds all the fellow countrymen in the south, north and overseas of something valuable. It is that for holding great President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il in high esteem, the Korean nation could reliably safeguard its sovereignty and dignity, and only anti-US independence is a true way of life. The US imperialists must not forget the lesson of history given by both US armed ships Sherman and Pueblo on the bank of the River Daedong that faced only bitter defeat in their invasions of Korea .
If the US continues its hostile policy towards Korea and pursues its aggression moves against it, it will face a more disgraceful destruction by the strength of the KPA and the Korean people, thousand times stronger than it was 40 years ago. The AINDF and the patriotic people in south Korea will more energetically wage the struggle to check and frustrate the aggressive joint military drills and the arms buildup in south Korea , dismantle the US military bases and expel the US troops from south Korea .
January 22 Juche 97(2008) Pyongyang