Self Determination is a matter of life or death for North Korea

Source: http://www.minjok.com/article/viewspecial.php3?catagory=minjok&code=438  Minjok tongshin 8/23/2001

While attending the National Liberation Day celebration in Pyongyang, I discovered many surprising things, one of which is the fact that North Korea is the only nation today that has forced the United States to admit to and apologize for its illegal acts.    
US President Lyndon B. Johnson confessed that the Pueblo was the only letter of apology of its kind he knew of.

The US, the sole super power, has dominated the world for many decades but it had no other option but to kneel down and beg for mercy in front of the united front of the people of North Korea, who value national sovereignty more than life. This infamous case is called the Pueblo Incident and the main historical archive of the incidence is the ship USS Pueblo herself, a prized trophy of North Korea.

Photo: The USS Pueblo on display near Pyongyang.

The US spy ship was captured on January 23, 1968 near Wonsan and was moved to the present location about two years ago. I learned about Pueblo during my visit to Pyongyang in 1999 in connection with the tenth all-Korea conference held there. I wondered how they had managed to move the ship from Wonsan to Pyongyang.  I found the answer on my next trip. I met Senior Col. Kim Joong Rok, who commanded the first boarding party some 33 years ago and was responsible for securing the spy ship.  Senior Col. Kim told me that Pueblo was moved from Wonsan to Daedong-gan through international waters off Cheju-do and Japan, It took the Americans three days to learn of the move.

The mooring site of the American spy ship was not chosen randomly. At the very spot, another American invader ship, the General Sherman, was burned down on September 2, 1886.  The Sherman was intent on invading Pyongyang when it was attacked and burned by the irate Pyongyang citizens, including great-grandfather of General Kim Jong Il.  The site was chosen for Pueblo as a symbol of the Korean Nationalism.

Photo: A monument commemorating the burning of US armed merchant General Sherman in 1886.

When Pueblo was captured, the US claimed that the ship was a civilian oceanic research boat (Ger-2) conducting research in international waters.  The US threatened war and dispatched a large armada to Korea. North Korea countered with "we will fight blow by blow, total war for total war" and went on a war footing.  The American crew of the spy ship was captured alive except one and all had confessed to doing espionage in North Korean territorial waters.  

Captain Bucher of USS Pueblo surrendered his ship and stated that he and his officers, based in Sasobo, Japan, had completed 135 spy missions along the Siberian coasts and were in the process of collecting intelligence data on North Korea when caught in the act by the North Koreans.  The ship had 83 Americans aboard, 77 sailors and six officers. Sen. Col. Kim said that his men had to shoot dead a sailor who resisted the boarding party. 

Kim said that "seven of my men jumped aboard the ship in the first wave of attack, which was followed by by the second wave of 34 attackers. Thus,  41 men captured 83 Americans, a major victory over the American invaders."

Photo (right): Senior Col. Kim Joon Rok commanded the boarding party that captured the US spy ship Pueblo near Wonsan.

After North Korea captured Pueble and towed her to Wonsan, the US sent a naval task force led by the aircraft carrier Enterprise and threatened military actions against North Korea. The US attempted to browbeat the UN Security Council into declaring another UN war.   North Korea demanded an official apology, else the Pueblo crew would be tried for espionage.  North Korea told the US that no matter what the ship would never be returned.  After eleven months of threats and counter-threats, the US finally gave up and knelt down for mercy.  The US formally apologized on December 23, 1968.

Kim said - "The US imperialists confessed that they had conducted 17 aggressive acts against us and signed a letter of apology. President Johnson lied about this letter. The American who signed it at Panmunjom was so nervous that he forgot to write down the date of his signature.  He was asked to date his signature, which he did and hurried off without saying a word."

Photo: Overseas Koreans listening to Kim in the communications room of Pueblo.

Kim's eyewitness account was more fascinating than any suspense action fiction I have read.  He was personally involved in the capture operation. Kim said "many people get so excited about my account that they want to stay around and hear it all day long, over and over again."

I realized that self determination is indeed a life or death matter for Kim and wondered how many others in North Korea were like-minded. This spirit of nationalism is found in all aspects of North Korea - politics, military, society, culture, education, diplomacy and arts. The 1886 burning of General Sherman, 1968 capture of USS Pueblo and many other conflicts with the US super power have united the people of North Korea into a union of all for one and one for all - a force of 25 million ready to repulse the United States imperialism.