Pueblo Incident

Incident in which communist North Korea seized the intelligence ship USS Pueblo in international waters in January 1968. One American sailor was killed and 82 captured.

Originally an Army supply vessel that was retired in 1954, the ship was converted into a spy ship in 1966 and served as part of Operation Clickbeetle, a joint mission of naval intelligence and the National Security Agency, intercepting and gathering signals communications. On January 23, 1968, North Korean boats surrounded the ship, which was in waters off the eastern coast of the country, and escorted it to shore. The Pueblo's captain stalled for time, attempting to have the crew destroy classified documents; the Koreans then fired from short range, killing one sailor and wounding four others, and boarded the ship.

Although the U.S. government initially claimed the intelligence losses were not significant, historians today believe otherwise; they believe that the North Koreans were sending important information about communications technology to Moscow. The military planned various scenarios for recovering the ship and [Page 612]its crew, but President Lyndon Johnson opted for a diplomatic solution, fearing any other intervention would lead to the loss of American lives with little likelihood of rescuing the imprisoned sailors. During their ordeal, the sailors were tortured and forced to appear in public to confess their crimes. Only late in the year was a deal finally worked out in which the United States would sign a letter of apology admitting to having violated North Korean waters and promising never to do so again. On December 23, the letter was signed and the crew released. The ship remained in North Korean hands.