The US Must Draw a Lesson from the Pueblo Incident

The US Must Draw a Lesson from the Pueblo Incident

Forty five years have elapsed since the Pueblo Incident occurred, which precipitated a touch-and-go situation on the Korean peninsula.

On January 23, 1968, a naval vessel of the Korean People’s Army, during a routine patrol, captured the US armed spy ship Pueblo and more than 80 of its crew in the act of committing espionage after illegally intruding into the territorial waters of the DPRK.

In capturing them, the DPRK was exercising its sovereign right as a dignified sovereign state.

However, the US clamoured about “retaliation,” claiming that the ship was in international waters and did not engage in espionage. In fact, this was the first American vessel in history that was captured by the navy of a foreign country. It was indeed a great shame for the US. The US political circles were utterly dismayed, the National Security Council meeting on January 24 and 25 in succession and adopting resolutions for military “retaliation.”

Accordingly, a task force with the nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise as a flagship moved out toward the sea off Wonsan, Korea, and several hundreds of fighter-bombers headed for south Korea. An “emergency mobilization order” was given to the US army stationed in Japan and south Korea.

Not satisfied with this, the US brought in two more aircraft carriers.

The world watched the developments on the Korean peninsula with anxiety. The leadership of the former Soviet Union, an ally of the DPRK, urged its counterpart to release the US ship, reasoning that a war might break out if the DPRK mishandled the incident and the Vietnamese war unleashed by the US, as well as the Spanish war, had been triggered by a ship incident.

To this the DPRK responded by declaring that it would retaliate against the “retaliation” and return all-out war for the “all-out war.”

The DPRK was in full combat readiness, and everyone thought a war was inevitable in Korea.

Facing a duel of force and an exchange of fire, the US backtracked.

Overpowered by the Korean army and people who regarded the sovereignty and dignity of their country as more important than their own lives, the US proposed a dialogue to the DPRK government. In December that year, the US signed a letter of apology in which it confessed that its ship intruded into the territorial waters of the DPRK and committed hostile acts, and gave assurances that it would not do the same in the future. As the then President Johnson admitted, it was the first apology of the US.

Through the Pueblo Incident, the DPRK showed its full determination to fight to the finish against those who infringe upon its sovereignty without making any concession.

The US should have drawn a due lesson from the incident. In later days, however, it has persisted in acts of espionage, military provocations, arms buildup and military drills against the DPRK. Some examples are the shooting down of the spy plane EC-121 in 1969, the Panmunjom Incident in 1976, the crash landing of a helicopter in the DPRK’s airspace in December 1994, and the fleeing of the electronic reconnaissance plane RC-135 after being frightened by the hot pursuit of the KPA plane while perpetrating espionage in the DPRK’s airspace in March 2003. In all these incidents, widely known to the world, the US was subjected to a stern punishment by the DPRK.

Now the US is boisterous about “detente,” “peace” and “end of war” and “dialogue” on the Korean peninsula, but as a matter of fact, it is steeped in political stratagems and military provocations to suffocate the DPRK.

The DPRK is constantly on the alert, keeping a sharp watch for the US moves.

Counter provocations with an immediate counteroffensive, and an aggressive war with a war of justice for the country’s reunification–this is the stand and will of the DPRK’s army and people at present. It may be claimed to be an advanced version of the DPRK’s declaration that it would retaliate against the “retaliation” and return all-out war for the “all-out war.”

The DPRK has already won international recognition as a military power and nuclear state. It has acquired inexhaustible military capabilities of dealing an instant and merciless blow to anybody who intrudes even an inch into its territory, waters and airspace, regardless of where they are from.

The US must never forget the disgraceful incident of 45 years ago.