USS Pueblo Crisis
A collection of primary source documents related to North Korea's capture of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) in January 1968, an event commonly known as the USS Pueblo Incident or the Pueblo Affair.
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January 22, 1968
Telegram from Pyongyang to Bucharest, TOP SECRET, No. 76.012, Urgent
The Embassy of Romania in the DPRK offers an initial assessment of the Blue House Raid based upon broadcasts from a Seoul radio station and speculates how North Korea will respond to allegations that it dispatched commandos into South Korea.
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January 23, 1968
Telegram From the Commander in Chief, United Nations Command, and Commander of United States, Korea (Bonesteel) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp)
The ROK Minister of Defense expresses his displeasure for the lack of a U.S. response towards the Blue House Raid as compared to the Pueblo incident.
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January 24, 1968
Memorandum of the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK for the Ambassadors and Acting Ambassadors of all Socialist Countries accredited to the DPRK
Kim Jae-bong claims the U.S. is trying to instigate a new war in Korea via the USS Pueblo Incident and urges the socialist countries to support North Korea.
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January 26, 1968
Telegram from Pyongyang to Bucharest, TOP SECRET, No. 76.020, Flash
Following a meeting with staff from the East German Embassy, the Embassy of Romania in the DPRK summarizes the views of Pak Seong-cheol, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party and Vice President of the Cabinet and Foreign Minister of the DPRK, on the seizure of the USS Pueblo.
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January 27, 1968
Telegram from Pyongyang to Bucharest, TOP SECRET, No. 76.022, Urgent
The Embassy of Romania in the DPRK summarizes the views of Esmat Naguib, Chargé d'affaires of the United Arab Republic to Pyongyang, who had recently attended a briefing on the USS Pueblo seizure at the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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January 27, 1968
Note on a Conversation with the Polish Ambassador, Comrade Naperei, on 26 January 1968 in the Polish Embassy
Ambassador Jarck reports on a conversation with the Polish Ambassador who spoke of the recent relocation of two squadrons of F-105's from Okinawa to South Korea, North Korean raids on the South, and the United States' moves towards the Swiss and the Neutral Commission Supervisory Commission.
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January 29, 1968
Telegram from Pyongyang to Bucharest, TOP SECRET, No. 76.027, Urgent
The Embassy of Romania in the DPRK summarizes a recent meeting held with M. Golub, the Ambassador of Czechoslovakia to Pyongyang, and discusses U.S.-North Korean negotiations and the Soviet response to the USS Pueblo crisis.
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January 29, 1968
Memorandum of Conversation with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Hungary, Comrade Kadasch
Ho Seok-tae informs Comrade Kadasch that he is going to send a delegation to the United Nations Security Council to explain the USS Pueblo incident and that he has asked the Hungarians to defend the DPRK at the UN.
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January 29, 1968
Record of a Conversation with J. Rowland, Australian Ambassador to the USSR
S.P. Kozyrev and J. Rowland debate the reasons behind the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula. Though Rowland is emphatic that the Soviet Union ought to pressure the DPRK to cease provocations, Kozyrev insists that the "DPRK is an independent country."
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January 29, 1968
Telegram from Pyongyang to Bucharest, TOP SECRET, No. 76.026, Flash
The Embassy of Romania in the DPRK summarizes a meeting held with D. Tsvetkov, First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Pyongyang. Tsvetkov discussed Soviet mediation efforts between the United States and North Korea, as well as the Soviet Union's overall response to the USS Pueblo crisis.
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January 29, 1968
Memorandum of a Conversation with the Ambassadors of the CSSR, Comrade Holub, and of the People’s Republic of Poland, Comrade Naperei
Upon reviewing the Pueblo incident, both ambassadors conclude that the U.S. violated the Armistice Treaty. Instead of using force to retain their ship and men, the U.S. should issue an apology to the DPRK or else the Koreans will fight back.
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January 29, 1968
Record of Conversation between Mongolian Deputy Foreign Minister Chimiddorj and the Counselor of the Soviet Embassy Basmanov on the USS Pueblo Crisis
Mongolian Deputy Foreign Minister D. Chimiddorj meets with Counselor of the Soviet Embassy, M.I. Basmanov to discuss North Korea's conflict with the US over the capture of the USS Pueblo. Basmanov describes the Soviet Embassy's involvement acting as a go-between for the United States and North Korea.