Lee Hae-chan calls on DPRK to return USS Pueblo to U.S.
by Richardson ~ March 29th, 2007. Filed under: America, History, Korean Politics.During a visit to Pyongyang 07-10 March, Former ROK PM Lee Hae Chan, now a political affairs special adviser to the president, called on North Korea to return the USS Pueblo to the U.S.:
“While speaking to North Korean officials after looking at the USS Pueblo, former Prime Minister Lee said it would help improve the North-U.S. relations if North Korea were to return the ship back to the United States,” the official was quoted as saying while speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official also quoted the former prime minister as saying that the North Korean officials’ responses “were not too bad,” according to the report.
From the USS Pueblo Veteran’s Association website:
The USS PUEBLO was a U. S. Navy vessel sent on an intelligence mission off the coast of North Korea. On January 23, 1968, the USS PUEBLO was attacked by North Korean naval vessels and MiG jets. One man was killed and several were wounded. The Eighty-two surviving crew members were captured and held prisoner for 11 months. The pages on this site tell the story of the Pueblo Incident and present the USS PUEBLO Veteran’s Association.
It is unlikely that North Korea will return the ship in the absence of diplomatic relations and massive aid, which means no time soon. I’ll venture that the Pueblo won’t return to the U.S. until the two Koreas unify.
More on the Pueblo’s story from the vets site, and from Wikipedia.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
[…] Via DPRK Studies, come news that former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan has called on North Korea to return the USS Pueblo: […]